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CTAR ALL-STAR

A Rehabilitation Device for Dysphagia 

 

 

The CTAR All-Star consists of a rubber ball, a pressure sensor and a bluetooth transmitter paired with a cross-platform mobile application. The device is used as a rehabilitation tool for people with dysphagia in a similar fashion to the traditional chin tuck against resistance (CTAR) exercise by squeezing the ball between the chin and upper chest. The mobile device displays a real time graph showing the pressure inside the ball allowing the patient to follow exercise routines set by medical professionals. Additionally, the application stores exercise data for future research purposes.

The Team

The Team

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Andrew Penrose

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Terri Heglar

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Austin Yount

INSTRUCTORS

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Dr. Sergiu Dascalu
Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering

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Devrin Lee
Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering

FACULTY ADVISORS

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Dr. Frederick Harris
Professor
Department of Computer Science and Engineering

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Kristine Galek Ph.D. CCC-SLP
Assistant Professor 
Department of Speech Pathology and Audiology

Description

Description

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CS 426 Senior Project in Computer Science

 

Spring 2019

 

University of Nevada, Reno

 

Computer Science and Engineering Department

 

Dysphagia is a disorder that impairs a persons ability to swallow. Dysphagia affects millions of Americans every year and is primarily seen in stroke victims and the elderly. Traditionally a few exercises are used in the rehabilitation of dysphagia including the shaker exercise where the patient lays in the supine position and raises the head up and down towards the chest or a modification of this exercise called the chin tuck against resistance (CTAR) where the patient squeezes a ball between the chest and chin in order to exercise the muscles in the neck. The CTAR All-Star is the 21st century upgrade to the traditional CTAR. The system will consist of a pneumatic ball with an embedded pressure sensor, Bluetooth transmitter, and microcontroller coupled via Bluetooth with a cross-platform mobile application capable of running on both Android and iOS devices. The mobile application will allow medical professionals to create customized exercise routines specific to each patient’s needs and provide patients with a visual representation of the pressure inside the ball as they are guided through the exercise. The CTAR All-Star will provide valuable quantitative data to both the patient and medical professionals showing the patient’s progress over time. This data will allow the medical professionals to ensure that their patients are making adequate progress and adjust their treatment as necessary. Additionally, this system will provide objective data to medical professionals and researchers allowing them to better understand dysphagia in the long term.

Resources

Resources

 

Wireless Surface Electromyography Monitoring System for Dysphagia Evaluation: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6998262

 

Application of mobile Bluetooth based on human physiological parameters wireless sensor: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7849740

 

Rehabilitation Exercise Feedback on Android Platform: https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=2077567

 

Mobile, Exercise-agnostic, Sensor-based Serious Games for Physical Rehabilitation at Home: https://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=3173280

Documentation
Poster

Project Poster

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Video

Project Video

Contact
Contact Us

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