草莓污视频导航

April 24, 2023

Digital health project looks for enthusiastic 草莓污视频导航 students to help those with Parkinson's

Help community, contribute to science, and create a research opportunity for yourself
A few members of the OpenDH team led by Dr. Bin Hu.
Bin Hu and a few of the leaders on the OpenDH team interviewed by CBC. Kelly Johnston, Cumming School of Medicine

A group of 草莓污视频导航 undergraduate students is hoping to convince dozens of other students to participate in . The educational program allows learners to gain experience with advanced wearable technology, contribute to science, conduct research, and improve the lives of people with Parkinson鈥檚 disease.

鈥淲e are training students to be health coaches in the community. We鈥檝e already have more than 120 people signed up and we need even more,鈥 says Melody Chu, a fourth-year nursing student.听

鈥淥ur team works with health professionals to develop safe, personalized exercise programs for people who have Parkinson鈥檚 disease. A student health coach helps the person learn the technology, and regularly checks in with them to monitor their progress.鈥

Designed to provide students with an opportunity to help people with Parkinson鈥檚, the program is also an opportunity to discover and test digital solutions to advance health care.

鈥淥ur program is filling an important gap in Alberta鈥檚 health-care ecosystem,鈥 says Dr. Bin Hu, MD, PhD, professor in clinical neuroscience at the and program supervisor. 鈥淲e need creative solutions to meet the needs of an aging society. I鈥檝e estimated if we could train 500 health coaches and equip patients with the wearable technology, we could help everyone living with Parkinson鈥檚 in Calgary with their rehabilitation and exercise needs.鈥

The station leaders for OpenDH represent a number of faculties at the 草莓污视频导航.

OpenDH station leaders say the program is a great way for undergrad students to be on a research team.

Becca McInnes, 草莓污视频导航

For students in all faculties, OpenDH is rife with opportunities.

鈥淪tudents have the chance to develop new skills in research, analysis, leadership and patient management,鈥 says Allison Yang, a first-year psychology student. 鈥淚t鈥檚 rare for a first- or second-year undergraduate student to be involved in a research project at this level.鈥

Student volunteers progress through six stations. In the first three stations they try the exercises themselves as they learn about the technology, . Exercises include everything from marching in place to isolated exercises focusing on individual joints to six-minute walk tests.

鈥淥ur program is a very unique and innovative way of engaging students in digital health revolution,鈥 says Farhan Raza, a first-year biomedical sciences student.听鈥淭he data we鈥檝e collected from healthy individuals as well as those with Parkinson鈥檚 has allowed us to develop and test digital protocols for many diagnostic tests and exercise management.鈥

Exercises are developed using gold standard protocols and can be done to music. For Parkinson鈥檚 patients, suddenly freezing while walking is the most frequent cause of fall and injury. Research has shown that music combined with movement can help the brain stop the body from freezing. To keep people engaged in exercise, students created playlists of motivational songs exclusively from the inductees of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

鈥淪tation Six is for public education and engagement,鈥 says Shahryar Wasif, a first-year psychology student.听鈥淔or example, our Northern Beats program allows the daily walking data submitted by OpenDH participants to be added up and projected on a giant map linking Calgary to the hometowns of Canadian artists. People enjoy seeing how far the group has walked.鈥

Hu says there simply aren鈥檛 enough community supports to reach everyone who needs rehabilitation. He believes the technology and student health coaches could help even more people who could benefit from rehabilitation at home including those recovering from stroke and living with other mobility challenges like multiple sclerosis and arthritis.

鈥淥ne 85-year-old woman is always bringing us cookies to show her thanks. Before the program, no one checked in on her, now students are calling weekly to check up on her health,鈥 says Hu. 鈥淭he students鈥 compassion, creativity and commitment are inspiring. They embrace technology and understand how AI can be utilized for health-care solutions.鈥

is recruiting students, especially those who are interested in developing effective AI-based tools in delivering digital health services to patients. Hu hopes once more health coaches are trained, recruitment can begin for people who need help in rehabilitation and exercise at home.

The OpenDH leadership team includes:听

  • ; Abdul-Samad Ahmed (kinesiology), Doreen Amini (biological sciences), Izma Ghani (biomedical听sciences)
  • ; Farhan Raza (biomedical sciences), Dhruvil Patel (biomedical sciences), Farheen Zahra (neuroscience)
  • ; Melody Chu (nursing), Armaan Singh (cellular, molecular and microbial biology),听Marcela Jaimes (physiotherapist)
  • ; Elbert Tom (kinesiology), Allison Yang (psychology),听Rose Muhammed (mathematics and statistics)
  • ; Shahryay Wasif (psychology), Jun Heo (computer science)

Supervisors include听Drs. Bin Hu, MD, Taylor Chomiak, PhD, Stephanie Plamondon, MD.

Community partners include , Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and Pedal for Parkinson鈥檚.

Bin Hu is a professor in the departments of and at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) and a member of the and at the CSM.

Brain and Mental Health Strategy (BMH)

Led by the Hotchkiss Brain Institute at the 草莓污视频导航, the BMH Strategy explores an improved understanding of the brain and nervous system and new treatments for neurological and mental health disorders, aimed at improving quality of life and patient care.听.听


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