SCH: Human-Robot Contact for Bathing and Skin-Care Assistance
Project Number1R01EB036842-01
Contact PI/Project LeaderPOLLARD, NANCY S
Awardee OrganizationCARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY
Description
Abstract Text
For individuals with a broad range of disability, illness, or injury, skin health can be challenging to
maintain. One devastating result is the high national incidence and impact of pressure injuries. The
annual cost of hospital acquired pressure injuries is estimated in the tens of billions of dollars. These
injuries are painful for the individual and result in up to 60,000 US deaths annually. Pressure injuries are
largely preventable through timely cleaning and frequent, consistent skin inspection. This serious health
issue has received considerable attention across the US, yet the impact of pressure injuries remains
largely unchanged.
This project proposes advances in the engineering and psychology of human-robot skin contact towards
introducing robots into the healthcare system as skin-care assistants with the goals of improving skin
health for individuals who are unable to perform bathing and skin care on their own. This project will
develop a novel individual representation of skin-care tasks that can be modified by a user with limited
motor functions. It will provide the first ever database that captures detailed hand movement and contact
pressures as expert caregivers perform skin-care tasks. It will result in novel reasoning and control
methods that enable the robotic assistant to interact safely with people. It will provide novel interaction
mechanisms for diverse individuals with disabilities and new findings on their preferences for working with
the robotic assistant. A unique soft robot hand will be developed to support these efforts.
Reducing the incidence and impact of pressure injuries can reduce pain and improve health outcomes for
individuals. It can save lives and billions of dollars to be applied to better uses in the health care system.
It can elevate and democratize access to skin health through consistency, implementation of best
practices, and individualized inspection algorithms. It can relieve burdens on caregivers, increase
privacy, allow individuals to live in their homes for a longer time and provide greater independence.
RELEVANCE (See instructions):
A robotic skin-care assistant can provide consistent skin cleaning and inspection for individuals that
require such assistance. Consistent skin cleaning and inspection is the number one means of
preventing pressure injuries and lessening their impact. Accomplishing the project goal can save lives,
prevent painful injuries, save billions of dollars, and save caregiver time while empowering individuals and
democratizing access to good skin care.
Public Health Relevance Statement
Data not available.
NIH Spending Category
No NIH Spending Category available.
Project Terms
AlgorithmsAreaAttentionAwarenessBathingCaregiver BurdenCaregiversCessation of lifeCollectionCommunitiesData SetDatabasesDemocracyDevelopmentDisabled PersonsEducationEngineeringFosteringGeometryGoalsHandHealthHealth ProfessionalHealthcareHealthcare SystemsHomeHospital CostsHumanHuman bodyIncidenceIndividualInjuryInstructionMaintenanceMeasuresMethodsModificationMotorMovementOccupational TherapyOutcomePainPatient CarePersonsPrevalencePrivacyProcessPsychologyQuality of lifeResearchRobotRoboticsSkinSkin CareTimeTouch sensationTrainingTranslatingUnited StatesVisualizationWorkWorkloadcaregiver educationdecubitus ulcerdesigndisabilityempowermenthapticshealth care settingshuman-robot interactionimprovedinjury preventioninnovationinsightmultimodalitynovelopen sourcepain reductionpatient privacyphysical impairmentpractical applicationpreferencepressurepreventprogramsrobot rehabilitationrobotic systemskills
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
CFDA Code
286
DUNS Number
052184116
UEI
U3NKNFLNQ613
G4P3TF8PFH73
KZV2XNZZN3A8
MJ5BDF8KMQ43
U9C6D6YR7P69
Project Start Date
01-August-2024
Project End Date
30-April-2028
Budget Start Date
01-August-2024
Budget End Date
30-April-2025
Project Funding Information for 2024
Total Funding
$318,960
Direct Costs
$251,551
Indirect Costs
$67,409
Year
Funding IC
FY Total Cost by IC
2024
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
$318,960
Year
Funding IC
FY Total Cost by IC
Sub Projects
No Sub Projects information available for 1R01EB036842-01
Publications
Publications are associated with projects, but cannot be identified with any particular year of the project or fiscal year of funding. This is due to the continuous and cumulative nature of knowledge generation across the life of a project and the sometimes long and variable publishing timeline. Similarly, for multi-component projects, publications are associated with the parent core project and not with individual sub-projects.
No Publications available for 1R01EB036842-01
Patents
No Patents information available for 1R01EB036842-01
Outcomes
The Project Outcomes shown here are displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Institutes of Health. NIH has not endorsed the content below.
No Outcomes available for 1R01EB036842-01
Clinical Studies
No Clinical Studies information available for 1R01EB036842-01
News and More
Related News Releases
No news release information available for 1R01EB036842-01
History
No Historical information available for 1R01EB036842-01
Similar Projects
No Similar Projects information available for 1R01EB036842-01