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Chander and MCCTR Team receive NIH Grant for Telehealth Medical Management of Neurological Impairments

Congratulations to Dr. Harish Chander of Mississippi State University for securing an NIH team science grant to address the implementation of wearable technology in telehealth medical management for neurological impairments.

The team-science grant is a collaboration with the Mississippi Center for Clinical and Translational Research, University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) School of Health-Related Professions and Mississippi State University (MSU). The team seeks to validate virtual reality (VR)-based tools to enhance neurological assessment and treatment techniques. The overall project has three separate co- projects, each with its own co-project leads, but provides a collaborative effort from all team members with the goal of combining neuromotor and neurocognitive assessments through novel approaches in wearable technology using novel wearable technology and lab-based assessments, providing comprehensive cognitive, biomechanical, neuromuscular, and subjective measures. This proposed team-science project is in direct alignment with many new and ongoing strategic initiatives in Mississippi around the concept of innovation and wearable and/or medical device technologies for potential use with telehealth.

Dr. John Garner, from the UMMC School of Health-Related Professions, (SHRP) at UMMC serves as the project lead for project #1 along with team personnel of Dr. Jacob Daniels from SHRP, and Dr. Jennifer Reneker from Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) and Dr. Shashank Shekar from Duke University are consultants. Dr. Harish Chander serves as the primary investigator for MSU where both projects #2 and #3 are conducted, and also serves as the lead for project #2. Dr Reuben Burch from MSU serves as the lead for project #3 along with team personnel Dr. Emily Wall and Mr. David Saucier.

The first project will attempt to validate immersive VR delivered neuro-cognitive tests with clinical test correlates using functional near-infrared spectrometry to measure hemodynamic response in the large hemispheric regions of the brain in young healthy individuals. This project will also explore subject performance variability on the tests and compare differences between real-world and virtual environment test delivery.

The second project will assess the efficacy of a custom-made immersive VR fall prevention neuromotor training program that provides virtual, visual postural perturbations compared to real-world treadmill-based physical postural perturbations. This will be completed among both a young healthy (18-40 years) and older adult (>60 years) population, and quantified through comprehensive biomechanical, neuromuscular, cognitive, and subjective measures. 

The final project will attempt to test the efficacy of a custom-made wearable smart sock with stretch and pressure sensors capable of capturing foot and ankle kinematics and kinetics, to assess postural stability during dual-task neurocognitive examination tests in VR among older adults (>60 years). This proposed team-science project is in direct alignment with many new and ongoing strategic initiatives in Mississippi around the concept of innovation and wearable and/or medical device technologies for potential use with telehealth.