Photo courtesy of Kaia Health
Kaia Health, a digital musculoskeletal (MSK) platform with 60 million lives covered worldwide, today announced that a new clinical study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Internet Research demonstrated its computer vision technology is as accurate as a physical therapist in suggesting exercise corrections. The technology is already included in the Kaia Health product and complements its U.S. network of physical therapists.
In the study, patients with osteoarthritis of the knee or hip performed a series of exercises while being simultaneously evaluated by computer vision technology and physical therapists. The results showed that physical therapists agreed as much with the exercise corrections suggested by Kaia Health computer vision technology as they did with each other’s exercise corrections.
Kaia Health computer vision technology, formerly known as Motion Coach, provides automated, real-time exercise feedback by tracking exercise form through the user’s smartphone camera. This proprietary technology makes it possible for the first time to provide users with exercise guidance during each and every exercise session.
Continuous exercise corrections that guide users step by step to better exercise form are important to help ensure safety and effectiveness and to give patients confidence in their movements. Other digital solutions in the MSK market provide no exercise feedback to patients. Many rely on either motion sensors strapped to a patient’s body that offer no exercise correction or remote physical therapy in which telePTs are not present during each exercise session.
“By integrating computer vision technology with our network of physical therapists, Kaia Health is changing the MSK care paradigm,” said Kaia Health U.S. Chief Medical Officer Justin Yang, M.D. “By combining world-class technology and human intervention, Kaia Health offers a complete continuum of MSK care for users.”
The New York– and Munich-based digital therapeutics company recently announced a $75 million Series C round ($125 million raised to date) to expand clinical capabilities, heavily invest in computer vision technology, and transform the treatment pathways for MSK in the U.S. and Europe. Kaia Health was the first to launch mobile computer vision technology for MSK in 2018 and remains the MSK technology market leader. The company’s AI-assisted therapy is unique in the MSK market and has been clinically validated for its accuracy. Additionally, Kaia Health features computer vision–based digital biomarkers such as a Toe-Touch Test to measure flexibility.
“Our computer vision technology is the only solution in the MSK market to provide real-time exercise corrections. The technology requires no additional hardware or sensors and instead leverages the camera on users’ own mobile devices,” said Kaia Health Chief Revenue Officer CJ Mark. “This enables a more engaging experience for our users—accessible at any time and anywhere. By combining our U.S. network of physical therapists and coaches with this superior technology, we are defining what next-generation MSK care looks like.”
Kaia Health recently unveiled Kaia Gateway & Premium Partners, the next-generation complete MSK care solution for all U.S. employers and health plans, based on the industry’s largest randomized controlled trial. This trial demonstrated how an MSK care pathway combining digital therapy, personalized health coaching, and collaboration with medical providers achieved better outcomes than the standard of care.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated demand for a digital MSK solution, which saw Kaia Health grow its book of business by 600% in 2020. Globally, 60 million patients can access the company’s digital MSK platform, which makes Kaia Health the biggest player in the digital MSK space in terms of covered lives.
MSK conditions affect 126.6 million Americans1 and result in annual costs to U.S. employers of $120 billion.2 MSK conditions cost businesses an average of $425 per member per year in medical bills, affect 25% of their workforce, and account for 16% of overall medical spend.3
About the clinical study
Twenty-four participants were enrolled and performed the assessments so that a dataset of 552 exercise sets was evaluated in the study. The interrater agreements showed an accuracy of r=0.828 (computer vision vs. physical therapist) vs. r=0.833 (physical therapist 1 vs. physical therapist 2), p<0.001, and confirmed non-inferiority of the computer vision corrections to a physical therapist’s corrections.
Subgroup analysis based on age with a split of 70 years or under, gender, and body mass index with a split of 30 or under, revealed no detectable difference in interrater agreement in any subgroup. There was also no detectable difference in levels of interrater agreement between computer vision vs. physical therapist and physical therapists themselves in any of the exercises, regardless of exercise pose or difficulty level.
References
- One in two Americans have a musculoskeletal condition costing an estimated $213 billion each year in treatment and lost wages. News release. AAOS Media Center. March 1, 2016. Accessed June 14, 2021. http://www.aaos-annualmeeting-presskit.org/2016/news_releases/musculoskeletal.shtml
- Northeast Business Group on Health (NEBGH). Preventing and Treating
Musculoskeletal Disorders: New Strategies for Employers. September 2017. Accessed June 9, 2021. https://nebgh.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/NEBGH_MSD-Report_FINAL.pdf
- Kaia Health data on file.
About Kaia Health
Kaia Health is a digital therapeutics company that creates accessible, evidence-based treatments for a range of conditions, including MSK pain and COPD. Working with experts in various medical fields, the company uses machine learning to deliver individualized app interventions that aim to empower and motivate patients to take control and self-manage their condition with digital alternatives from their home using devices they already own (i.e., smartphones and tablets). Kaia Health has enrolled more than 450,000 users to date in their digital therapy program and is a member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), an international non-profit trade association of industry leaders and stakeholders engaged in the evidence-driven advancement of digital therapeutics. Kaia Health has offices in New York and Munich.
