CASE STUDY
SteeperUSA is a world-class manufacturer of enablement devices that specialises in myoelectric prostheses – where motors and batteries power functional devices which are ultimately controlled by muscle-generated electrical signals in a residual limb. The devices aim to reproduce the function of a missing body part to improve an individual's function and independence.
RESULTS
Improved clinic visits
Clinic visits are faster and more successful, with the clinician working from rich, real-time data all in one place.
Smoother prosthetic activations
For users with a new prosthetic, the ability for their clinician to apply previous settings means they get back to their everyday lives faster than before.
Empowered users
Approved new firmware updates can be accepted anywhere in the world, without the need for a time-consuming visit to the clinic.
Administrative Control
The SteeperUSA team can manage user accounts and firmware releases through the portal, always keeping them in control of the solution.
Confidence
With a comprehensive support package in place, all stakeholders can be confident of a robust product solution for the future.
Client Challenges
To accompany their ground-breaking Myo Kinisi prosthetic hand, SteeperUSA wanted to provide an enhanced user experience for both patients and clinicians. Throughout a patient's relationship with a prosthetic device, they will need to make regular visits to their clinician to tailor configurable settings like grasp and grip force in addition to applying any new software updates that might be available. These appointments can be lengthy, with clinicians needing to refer to data records to recall a previous configuration and no way to 'roll back' to a previous configuration after a change was made.
Binary Forge has created an incredible smart app to improve functionality enhancing our Myo Kinisi hand.
Giving clinicians the ability to create and store prosthetic device settings whilst observing their impact in real-time delivers better outcomes for the patients. Adding the ability for the patients to perform a device firmware update remotely if ever required. It saves on having to arrange additional clinical appointments and benefits the patient from having to travel and arrange such appointments in clinic - a great, cost effective, solution. Binary Forge understood what we needed and delivered beyond our expectations.
KEY ISSUES
Inability to Retrieve Previous Configuration Data
When a patient got a new prosthetic device, there was no way to apply the configuration data that was set in the previous unit and the clinician would need to start the calibration process from scratch.
Inadequate Setting Recall for Myo Kinisi Adjustments
A clinician might want to ‘roll back’ a user’s Myo Kinisi to a previous setting, but this relied on them being able to recall the previous positioning.
Manual Software Updates Through Clinical Visits
From time-to-time SteeperUSA makes new software available for their devices, previously, patients would be required to attend their clinic to have any new update applied.
Cross-platform Compatibility Requirement
Any future solution needed to work across both Android and iOS devices including tablets and mobile phones.
THE SOLUTION
Binary Forge met with the client to create an initial project scope for a solution that could meet the needs of two audiences - the user and the clinician.
There are always unforeseen issues and complications during delivery and this project was no different, however, our iterative approach and regular communication with the client allowed us to overcome the challenges and deliver a product that exceeded expectations.
Mobile Application
Cloud Management Portal
Support & Maintenance
MOBILE APP
The new app (available on i0S and Android) connects to the Myo Kinisi prosthetic hand over Bluetooth and provides clinicians with a detailed series of screens that enable the configuration of all available settings on the device. In addition, there is a dedicated graph view that aids the clinician by delivering real-time feedback from the hand, giving them the ability to rapidly diagnose any issues and confirm the proper operation of the device.
Clinicians need to have an account with SteeperUSA to log in and access the device configuration screens; however, there is a dedicated section for patients who can pair the app with their hand to apply any pending software updates wherever they are in the world without needing to create an account.
Cloud Management Portal
A cloud management platform was developed alongside the mobile app to support three key activities that deliver a significant benefit to SteeperUSA, the clinicians, and patients alike.
Prosthetic software management
The SteeperUSA team are able to manage which versions of the Myo Kinisi software are available to patients and/or clinicians. The service will deliver notifications to users across all platforms, alerting them to the availability of a new update and the cloud distribution system allows patients to apply new updates wherever they choose (rather than having to make a trip to see their clinician).
Clinician user account management
The portal allows the SteeperUSA team to create, update and delete clinician user accounts giving them the ability to control who has access to the configuration screens in the mobile app.
Historic prosthetic settings management
After a clinician has successfully configured a patient's hand, a copy of the settings is stored in the portal for future reference. This is stored without reference to any patient details, and no patient can be identified through this stored data. The historic configurations can be recalled and re-applied in subsequent clinician visits should the need arise. This is particularly useful if a patient can't visit the same clinician all the time.
Secure cloning
If a problem configuration is identified in the field, the SteeperUSA support team are able to quickly clone the settings and upload them to a test unit in the lab by simply scanning a QR code with the mobile app. The exact configuration is then replicated in the lab and can be pushed to a test prosthetic device for analysis.
Support & Maintenance
With any modern solution, there are always updates and maintenance activities that need to be carried out to keep the product functioning as intended for its designed lifetime. This is particularly true when a cross-platform mobile app forms a major part of the solution.
The SteeperUSA team were not able to take on the full upkeep of the platform so Binary Forge will be providing this service on their behalf. The package includes:
Cloud service delivery
Disaster recovery
Regular mobile app maintenance updates
App and Play store management
