Background:

reNeu integrates diagnostic, assistive, and rehabilitative technology to support gait restoration in stroke recovery. It delivers small electrical impulses to targeted muscles or nerves, triggering movement. To evaluate the device’s effectiveness and identify the stroke populations it benefits most, clinical trials are necessary. These trials involve a multidisciplinary team—including engineers, a physical therapist, an apparel designer, a software developer, and researchers—who collaborate during sessions with stroke survivors.

The challenge is the large number of staff members in each session creates a chaotic environment, prolongs study sessions, and leads to inefficiencies, wasting time and energy.

Problem:

As part of the NIH grant, we’ve been tasked with running 50 clinical trials within one year. Each trial takes approximately 5 hours, totaling 250 hours—about 12% of annual work hours.

Additionally, each trial involves 9 staff members, bringing the total to 2,250 staff hours across all trials.

Previous app:

The system was overly complex:

• Donning the device required the presence of researchers, an apparel designer, and a biomechanics engineer.

• The app’s complexity necessitated a software developer, researchers, and biomechanics engineers during the study.

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6849df8a3dabe50908c16035/b401ae53-0ee7-444c-b0f2-a7344888f739/Slide+4_3+-+1.png?">

I designed an app to help the researchers and PTs to run studies with few number of STAFF (one PT and one assistant) during the session. By reducing the number of members to 2 staff, we had 78%reduction in staff requirements and it took only 500 staff hours across all trials.

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6849df8a3dabe50908c16035/7f7b8c71-1bcb-401c-8e0a-2de1f5bd327b/renue+1.png?">

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6849df8a3dabe50908c16035/4e2f43b5-8c33-4c92-a5cc-7006a1349c63/renue+2.png?">

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6849df8a3dabe50908c16035/d229a771-c698-45d5-a5f4-92eef3b660c8/renue+3.png?">

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6849df8a3dabe50908c16035/2ab7b722-785d-4307-bcb5-cac5be3eeeb0/renue+4.png?">

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6849df8a3dabe50908c16035/5635a68c-7068-45f8-96b0-ab0bb9bcf405/renue+5.png?">

<img src="https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/6849df8a3dabe50908c16035/86d5f95a-512d-4d0b-b520-e1ee775303f1/renue+6.png?">

• Having 2 staff members in the study sessions, instead of having 9 members.

  • 78% reduction in staff requirement

• Results from 4 Sessions with the new app:

  • Physical therapists resolved errors/issues independently.

  • Wrong clicks reduced by 89%.

  • Study sessions were 35 minutes shorter on average.

• PTs’ Feedback:

  • "It looks great—user-friendly and self-explanatory."