# Development and Commercialization of a weight monitoring platform for wheelchair users

> **NIH NIH R44** · NURELM E-BUSINESS SOFTWARE · 2024 · $987,365

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
This project will complete the final design and development steps to commercialize the Fast In-Bed
Tracking (FIT) Platform, which is an e-Health and wellness Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring system that
can be integrated into a user’s bed and provide person-centered, real-world outcomes to support health and
wellness. The technical feasibility of FIT was proven over the past several years and has demonstrated the
platform can support the treatment of several chronic conditions across different populations, including
obesity, congestive heart failure, and pressure injuries. The project goals will be to (1) complete design
refinements for FIT and (2) demonstrate the platform’s efficacy to support weight loss goals of wheelchair
users. Wheelchair users are twice as likely as the general population to be overweight or obese and excess
weight not only exacerbates mobility and participation limitations but increases risk for secondary health
problems. Evidence reveals that frequent weight monitoring is a key driver for weight management, which
puts wheelchair users at a significant disadvantage, because they have no convenient way to measure their
body weight. As a recent example, lack of participant’s ability to self-weigh was a noted limitation to a
weight loss program for wheelchair users, known as the Group Lifestyle Balance weight loss program
Adapted for Individuals with Impaired Mobility (GLB-AIM). FIT solves this challenge by passively monitoring
a user's weight when they get on and off their bed. Our lab and community-based feasibility trials
demonstrated that FIT successfully tracks weight for individuals and couples sharing a bed and that users
find FIT highly usable. This proposed project will allow our team to complete the design refinements users
recommended during our community-based feasibility trial and subsequently examine the efficacy of FIT in
supporting the weight-loss goals of community-dwelling wheelchair users through a randomized controlled
trial using the GLB-AIM.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10920281
- **Project number:** 1R44HD114504-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NURELM E-BUSINESS SOFTWARE
- **Principal Investigator:** JONATHAN L PEARLMAN
- **Activity code:** R44 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $987,365
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-21 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10920281

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10920281, Development and Commercialization of a weight monitoring platform for wheelchair users (1R44HD114504-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10920281. Licensed CC0.

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