Year 3 Pilots

Award: McKnight’s Tech Awards 2025 Golds in Emerging Technology and in Falls Prevention, Management or Detection Categories

Emerging Technology Category: The Emergency Technology category acknowledges innovators who have developed technology-driven tools showing great potential for improving care and/or the bottom line, even though they are not yet in the broad marketplace. Neursantys won top honors in this category for their pilot study with The Forum at Rancho San Antonio and LCS for their entry titled “NEURVESTA Vestibular Stimulation Therapy for Restoring Balance.” The study, involving 35 residents, showed that the protocol can enhance balance and lower the risk of falls, resulting in residents feeling more confident to participate in group outings and return to their exercise classes, and delaying the potential need for a higher level of care. Falls Prevention, Management or Detection: The Falls Prevention, Management or Detection category recognizes the use of technology that helps providers reduce the risk of…

Continue ReadingAward: McKnight’s Tech Awards 2025 Golds in Emerging Technology and in Falls Prevention, Management or Detection Categories

Grant Funding: NSF SBIR Phase II – AI-based Accessible Visual-Assessment App for Active Healthy Aging of Older Adults

The broader/commercial impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will result from providing remote, accessible fall risk assessments and exercise programs. This project empowers older adults to maintain independence and improve their quality of life. Falls are a major health risk for older adults, with significant physical, psychological, and economic impacts, costing the U.S. $50 billion annually. Current fall prevention methods are costly, inconsistent, or difficult to access, particularly in rural communities. This project introduces an AI-based video assessment app for routine fall risk assessments and personalized exercises for older adults using common smartphones or tablets. This innovation aims to improve the quality of life for older adults. Beyond improving individual health outcomes, this project has the potential to significantly lower healthcare costs by reducing fall-related hospitalizations, rehabilitation expenses, and long-term…

Continue ReadingGrant Funding: NSF SBIR Phase II – AI-based Accessible Visual-Assessment App for Active Healthy Aging of Older Adults

Publication: Just-in-Time Adaptive Interventions: Where Are We Now and What Is Next?

Authors: Inbal Nahum-Shani, Susan A Murphy Abstract The past decade has seen a surge in developing just-in-time adaptive interventions (JITAIs)-an intervention approach that leverages advancements in digital technologies to address the rapidly changing needs of individuals in daily life. This article provides an overview of the state of science on JITAI development and highlights important directions for future research. We explain what a JITAI is (and what it is not) and review the scientific and practical rationales underlying this approach. We also call attention to three key challenges relating to the development of JITAIs. The first challenge is that individuals may not be able to engage with (i.e., invest energy in) an intervention when they need it most in daily life. The second concerns the generally suboptimal engagement of individuals in interventions that leverage digital…

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Data Set and Open Source Software Released: Materials used in “Can You Walk Me Through It? Explainable SMS-Phishing Detection Using LLM-Based Agents”

Full article: https://www.usenix.org/system/files/soups2025-wang.pdf Dataset and Software: https://github.com/yizhu-joy/SmishX/tree/main

Continue ReadingData Set and Open Source Software Released: Materials used in “Can You Walk Me Through It? Explainable SMS-Phishing Detection Using LLM-Based Agents”

Publication: Developing an Equitable Machine Learning-Based Music Intervention for Older Adults At Risk for Alzheimer Disease: Protocol for Algorithm Development and Validation

Authors: Chelsea S Brown, Luna Dziewietin, Virginia Partridge, Jennifer Rae Myers Abstract Background: Given the high prevalence and cost of Alzheimer disease (AD), it is crucial to develop equitable interventions to address lifestyle factors associated with AD incidence (eg, depression). While lifestyle interventions show promise for reducing cognitive decline, culturally sensitive interventions are needed to ensure acceptability and engagement. Given the increased risk for AD and health care barriers among rural-residing older adults, tailoring interventions to align with rural culture and distinct needs is important to improve accessibility and adherence. Objective: This protocol aims to develop an intelligent recommendation system capable of identifying the optimal therapeutic music components to elicit engagement and resonate with diverse rural-residing older adults at risk for AD. Aim 1 is to develop culturally inclusive user personas for rural-residing older adults to understand…

Continue ReadingPublication: Developing an Equitable Machine Learning-Based Music Intervention for Older Adults At Risk for Alzheimer Disease: Protocol for Algorithm Development and Validation

Oral Presentation: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2025 – Technology And Dementia Preconference

Jennifer Flexman presented "Improving Access to Dementia Care though AI-Powered Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy" at the Technology And Dementia Preconference during Session 5: Data Blitz.

Continue ReadingOral Presentation: Alzheimer’s Association International Conference 2025 – Technology And Dementia Preconference