# PostureCheck: A vision-based compensatory-posture-detection tool to enhance performance of the BURT® upper-extremity stroke-therapy device

> **NIH NIH R44** · BARRETT TECHNOLOGY, LLC · 2021 · $813,419

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
 This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase-II project proposes the deployment of an AI-powered
image-processing tool, named PostureCheck™, to automatically detect when patients perform undesirable
compensatory movements during robot-assisted upper-extremity (UE) rehabilitation exercises. The system is
based on a standard video camera and the artificial intelligence (AI) software developed under the NIH Phase-I
project. PostureCheck™ will be fully integrated with Barrett Technology's existing Burt® UE rehabilitation robot,
ensuring that patients are provided appropriate and timely feedback to encourage the correct performance of
therapeutic exercises without requiring constant therapist supervision.
 Burt® is an FDA-listed UE rehabilitation robot that supports the weight of a patient's arm and hand while the
patient moves his/her arm to interact with on-screen games. Burt® offers guided assistance, visual and haptic
feedback, and activities and assessments to both help train the patient and measure progress. Clinical studies
have shown that Burt® can be used to improve patients' performance in one-on-one sessions with a therapist.
However, the system lacks the capability for a single therapist to monitor and work with several patients and
Burt® systems at one time.
 The proposed SBIR Phase-II activities are organized in three aims. In Aim 1, the annotated dataset generated
in Phase-I will be used to develop three separate AI modules. These modules will be integrated into a framework
that allows therapists to monitor the outcome of the modules, and, through feedback, enable the system to auto-
adapt to improve performance continuously. In Aim 2, stakeholder feedback will be gathered and integrated to
design multiple user interfaces for the PostureCheck™ tool. Specific interfaces will be created for use by
therapists during and after RT sessions. PostureCheck™ will be integrated with the Burt® device to empower
therapists to provide effective feedback to patients and deter the use of compensatory movements. Finally, in
Aim 3, forty-two stroke survivors will be recruited in an interventional study deploying the PostureCheck™ and
Burt® systems. Subjects will undergo eighteen RT sessions in either an individual or group therapy format. Motor
performance between groups will be compared to gather information about the suitability of the combined
systems for multi-patient RT therapy in future rehabilitation centers.
 The long-term commercial goal of the project is to provide a practical Burt®-plus-PostureCheck™ system to
empower therapists to supervise multiple patients simultaneously through a gamut of useful functionalities. The
system will be suitable for deployment in clinics as well as rehabilitation centers such as wellness gyms.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10156853
- **Project number:** 2R44EB027525-02
- **Recipient organization:** BARRETT TECHNOLOGY, LLC
- **Principal Investigator:** Paolo Bonato
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $813,419
- **Award type:** 2
- **Project period:** 2018-09-22 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10156853

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10156853, PostureCheck: A vision-based compensatory-posture-detection tool to enhance performance of the BURT® upper-extremity stroke-therapy device (2R44EB027525-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-10 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10156853. Licensed CC0.

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