Artificial intelligence (AI) is enabling precision medicine to be used in speech, language and cognitive rehabilitation for stroke survivors.
Researchers at Boston University and the University of Texas will have access to the world’s largest speech and cognitive therapy database, created by Constant Therapy Health.
Neuroscientists, data engineers and computational scientists will now be able to use the AI-driven, real-world data to bring precision medicine to post-stroke speech, language and cognitive rehabilitation.
Researchers will employ the Constant Therapy Health’s proprietary data, which is based on more than 230 million speech and cognitive therapy exercises completed by 100,000+ de-identified patients, to conduct real-world, evidence-based studies.
The project will apply both statistical evidence and advanced AI to develop new innovative models of therapy focused on strengthening speech, language, and cognitive therapy for stroke patients.
This research will eventually extend to patients suffering from traumatic brain injury (TBI) or people living with Alzheimer’s disease or other neurological conditions.
Lead researcher Dr Swathi Kiran, founding director of Boston University’s Center for Brain Recovery and also a co-founder of Constant Therapy Health, said: “We have a team of clinicians and neuroscientists at Boston University who are harnessing Constant Therapy data to develop recovery prediction models.
“Our ability to bring an advanced machine learning perspective to our research enables us to make great strides in our quest to bring precision medicine to stroke patients suffering from speech and cognitive impairment.”
“We have a very concrete goal to make speech, language and cognitive treatment for stroke patients more effective,” said Dr Risto Miikkulainen, professor of computer science at the University of Texas at Austin.
“There is so much hype about the potential dangers of AI. Here we are taking this unparalleled abundance of data provided by Constant Therapy Health and employing machine learning to do good – to make important new discoveries.
“This research is not just about predicting what will happen. It is also about knowing what course of therapy should be prescribed. We want to determine the best rehabilitation ‘recipe’ for each patient.”
In the United States, an estimated 800,000 people have a stroke each year. In the UK, there are over 100,000 each year, and around 1.3million stroke survivors.
An estimated one in three people who have a stroke are left with problems with speaking, reading, writing, and understanding what other people say to them.
“The individual and societal impacts of stroke and other brain injuries are at crisis levels,” said Dr Veera Anantha, founder and CEO, Constant Therapy Health.
“This collaboration will usher in a new era in brain recovery research.
“Our ability to provide leading researchers with an unprecedented depth of real-world data has the power to transform neuro-rehabilitation research and dramatically impact patients and society at large.”
