PhD Study : Quantitatively assessment of limb motion utilising wearable sensors in remote rehabilitation

Summary

Background: The increasing growth of the aging population has put pressure on public services especially healthcare services. According to the report by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), the figures show a consistent trend of growth in population aged over 85 (BelfastTelegraph.co.uk, 2019). The prevalence of chronic disease (e.g. stroke, multiple sclerosis) and may lead to increase of the limb disabilities (Sousa et al., 2009). To address the current need in reducing the hospital visits and risk of readmission, the home rehabilitation can be a viable solution (Bernocchi et al., 2016). The current challenges in home rehabilitation include the clinical interpretation of quantitative rehabilitation measures (e.g. motion sensing data obtained from inertial sensing unit) and understanding clients’ performance on prescribed tasks during home rehabilitation.

Project aim: The proposed system will utilise the sensing components from the clients’ mobile phone which saves the cost to purchase a motion monitoring sensor/system. There are two major aims of this project. One is to develop a mobile phone-based system which enables the clinicians to remotely assess clients’ limb movement. Secondly, the system is able to work as a single sensor-based rehabilitation exercise assessment platform to be used in home for remote rehabilitation with the ability to detect whether the prescribed home rehabilitation exercises have been correctly performed.

Furthermore, a visualisation platform will be able to provide for clinicians with the insights of clients movement performance. Visualisations can be co-created with healthcare professionals and variants can be objectively assessed and compared using eye tracking analysis. Motion tracking algorithms will be developed to enable the limb motion tracking by utilising a single inertial sensing unit (a smart phone in this project). Machine learning models will be trained for the purpose of recognition of clinicians’ prescribed home based exercises for patients. This proposed research project aligns with the school research focus in the areas of healthcare and interdisciplinary research.

References:

BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. (2019). Growth in Northern Ireland's older population putting pressure on health and social services - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk. [online] Available at: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/growth-in-northern-irelands-older-population-putting-pressure-on-health-and-social-services-38535101.html [Accessed 12 Nov. 2019].

Sousa, R., Ferri, C., Acosta, D., Albanese, E., Guerra, M., Huang, Y., Jacob, K., Jotheeswaran, A., Rodriguez, J., Pichardo, G., Rodriguez, M., Salas, A., Sosa, A., Williams, J., Zuniga, T. and Prince, M. (2009). Contribution of chronic diseases to disability in elderly people in countries with low and middle incomes: a 10/66 Dementia Research Group population-based survey. The Lancet, 374(9704), pp.1821-1830.

Bernocchi, P., Vanoglio, F., Baratti, D., Morini, R., Rocchi, S., Luisa, A. and Scalvini, S. (2016). Home-based telesurveillance and rehabilitation after stroke: a real-life study. Topics in Stroke Rehabilitation, 23(2), pp.106-115.

Essential criteria

Applicants should hold, or expect to obtain, a First or Upper Second Class Honours Degree in a subject relevant to the proposed area of study.

We may also consider applications from those who hold equivalent qualifications, for example, a Lower Second Class Honours Degree plus a Master’s Degree with Distinction.

In exceptional circumstances, the University may consider a portfolio of evidence from applicants who have appropriate professional experience which is equivalent to the learning outcomes of an Honours degree in lieu of academic qualifications.

• Sound understanding of subject area as evidenced by a comprehensive research proposal

Desirable Criteria

If the University receives a large number of applicants for the project, the following desirable criteria may be applied to shortlist applicants for interview.

• Publications record appropriate to career stage
• A comprehensive and articulate personal statement
• Applicants will be shortlisted if they have an average of 75% or greater in a first (honours) degree (or a GPA of 8.75/10). For applicants with a first degree average in the range of 70% to 74% (GPA 3.3): If they are undertaking an Masters, then the average of their first degree marks and their Masters marks will be used for shortlisting.

Funding and eligibility

The University offers the following levels of support:

Vice Chancellors Research Studentship (VCRS)

The following scholarship options are available to applicants worldwide:

• Full Award: (full-time tuition fees + £19,000 (tbc))
• Part Award: (full-time tuition fees + £9,500)
• Fees Only Award: (full-time tuition fees)

These scholarships will cover full-time PhD tuition fees for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance) and will provide a £900 per annum research training support grant (RTSG) to help support the PhD researcher.

Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Please note: you will automatically be entered into the competition for the Full Award, unless you state otherwise in your application.

Department for the Economy (DFE)

The scholarship will cover tuition fees at the Home rate and a maintenance allowance of £19,000 (tbc) per annum for three years (subject to satisfactory academic performance).

This scholarship also comes with £900 per annum for three years as a research training support grant (RTSG) allocation to help support the PhD researcher.

• Candidates with pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme, who also satisfy a three year residency requirement in the UK prior to the start of the course for which a Studentship is held MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance.
• Republic of Ireland (ROI) nationals who satisfy three years’ residency in the UK prior to the start of the course MAY receive a Studentship covering fees and maintenance (ROI nationals don’t need to have pre-settled or settled status under the EU Settlement Scheme to qualify).
• Other non-ROI EU applicants are ‘International’ are not eligible for this source of funding.
• Applicants who already hold a doctoral degree or who have been registered on a programme of research leading to the award of a doctoral degree on a full-time basis for more than one year (or part-time equivalent) are NOT eligible to apply for an award.

Due consideration should be given to financing your studies. Further information on cost of living