AI Empowers Researchers to Bring Precision Medicine to Post-stroke Speech and Cognitive Rehabilitation

Newswise — LEXINGTON, Massachusetts, July 26, 2023 ⎯ Constant Therapy Health, a next generation digital health company, today announced that the organization is empowering  Boston University Center for Brain Recovery and The University of Texas at Austin  neuroscientists, data engineers and computational scientists with the AI-driven, real-world data needed to bring precision medicine to post-stroke speech, language and cognitive rehabilitation. Researchers will employ the company’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 Constant Therapy database is the world’s largest database of its kind.

Scientists 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 those who are living with Alzheimer’s or other neurological conditions.

According to lead researcher Swathi Kiran, PhD, CCC-SLP, James and Cecilia Tse Ying Professor in Neurorehabilitation at Boston University, College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences: Sargent College and founding director of Boston University’s Center for Brain Recovery, “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.” [Disclosure: Dr. Kiran is a co-founder of Constant Therapy Health.]

“We have a very concrete goal to make speech, language and cognitive treatment for stroke patients more effective,” said Risto Miikkulainen, PhD, 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.”

Added Miikkulainen, “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.”  

According to the Centers for Disease Control, every year nearly 800,000 people in the United States have a stroke. An estimated 1 in 3 people who suffer a stroke have 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,” noted Veera Anantha, PhD, 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 neurorehabilitation research and dramatically impact patients and society at large.”

About Constant Therapy Health: 

Constant Therapy Health is a next-generation digital health company whose technology is clinically proven to improve the efficacy of cognitive, speech, and language therapy, as well as increase access to and reduce the cost of therapy. Constant Therapy, an award-winning mobile program, uses patented AI technology to deliver personalized exercises that rebuild cognitive and speech function for individuals recovering from stroke or traumatic brain injury (TBI) or living with aphasia, dementia, and other neurological conditions. Built by a team of top neuroscientists at Boston University, Constant Therapy is used by tens of thousands of patients and clinicians, helping to create the world’s largest brain rehabilitation database, and providing insights that can improve the effectiveness and efficiency of brain rehabilitation. Visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn to learn more or to partner with us.

About Boston University Center for Brain Recovery: 

Boston University's Center for Brain Recovery conducts ground-breaking research to enhance diagnosis and improve treatments for people with neurological disorders, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, and dementia. 

About The University of Texas at Austin Department of Computer Science

The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Computer Science consistently ranks among the top 10 computer science programs and is based at one of the best public research universities in the world. The department has more than 50 tenured and tenure-track faculty, including winners of the most prestigious honors and prizes in computing.

#  #  #