AI Case Study

"Kaia Health, a startup that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and motion-tracking technology to build a treatment program with no more than a smartphone or tablet.

In a clinical study conducted at the Technical University of Munich’s Center for Pain Therapy and other leading institutions in Germany, its app-based approach reduced lower back pain by 40 percent. And a slew of independent research — including a 2011 study of chronic pain — has shown its brand of psychotherapy to be an effective form of treatment for long-term ailments.

The app, which previously launched in Germany and the U.K. and hits U.S. shores today, was developed with advisement from “physiotherapists,” “pain management physicians,” “orthopedic surgeons,” and “clinical psychologists,” Kaia Health claims. (It’s registered as a Class 1 medical device with the Food and Drug Administration.) It tracks connective points on the body using an iOS or Android device’s front-facing camera, which it uses in tandem with an on-screen wireframe model to walk users through any of 120 15-minute exercises.

The Kaia app’s video portal contains clips covering basic back pain information, step-by-step physiotherapy exercises for the lower back and lateral muscles, and psychological strategies such as mindfulness and muscle relaxation. And a built-in chat tool lets users consult with a physiotherapist or sports scientist on questions related to exercises.

Not so incidentally, the Kaia app’s underlying algorithms power the two other apps in Kaia Health’s portfolio: the Perfect Squat Challenge and Kaia COPD. The former gives real-time audio feedback on users’ poses, and Kaia COPD walks patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease through breathing exercises designed to reduce lung inflammation that can obstruct airflow."