How a mobile device can help physical therapy patients see under the skin
Sometimes the problem with treating most injuries is not the treatment itself: It's a noncompliance issue. Microsoft researchers developed a device that gives patients a reason to stick to therapy.
Using the device called AnatOnMe, images such as bones, muscles, tendons and nerves are projected onto the skin, to motivate patients to follow recommended therapies.
The only thing is, the images projected on the skin are far from personal. Instead, stock images from six different injuries are used to educate the patients about their injury. The idea is to use the device to help patients understand what's going on with their injury, so they can exercise accordingly or make appropriate changes to their lifestyle.
The prototype contains a handheld device and a laser pointer, according to Technology Review.
The device was presented in Vancouver at CHI 2011, the Association for Computing Machinery's Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. Watch it in action here.
A Virtual View beneath the Skin [Technology Review]
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This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com