Team going to Russia with glove

4 at UCA taking therapy aid to Imagine Cup world finals

University of Central Arkansas students John White (left) and Kyle Eichelberger explain the Bear Claw System, a glove designed to help with physical and occupational therapy, during a demonstration Tuesday.
University of Central Arkansas students John White (left) and Kyle Eichelberger explain the Bear Claw System, a glove designed to help with physical and occupational therapy, during a demonstration Tuesday.

Four University of Central Arkansas students are heading to St. Petersburg, Russia, to demonstrate a glove that they hope could revolutionize physical and occupational therapy.

Team Bears Unlimited - John White, Ben Tackett, R. Kyle Eichelberger and Michelle Enfinger - leaves Saturday to compete in the Microsoft-sponsored Imagine Cup. The annual event has atop prize of $50,000.

“We have an incredible opportunity to change the way occupational therapy is done around the world,” said White, a 25-year-old senior majoring in computer science. “The applications of our system are absolutely limitless.”

The team created the Bear Claw System, a smartphone game paired with a glove outfitted with sensors to detect hand and finger movements. To progress in the game, patients must correctly perform occupational therapy exercises.

Jennifer Moore, an associate professor in the UCA Department of Occupational Therapy, said the project addresses a problem many doctors have with patients.

“A lot of people don’t follow through with their exercises for one reason or another,” she said. “If they don’t do their home program, then their success rate is not nearly as high.”

Enfinger, a 27-year-oldstudying for a master’s degree in applied computing, said she has seen firsthand the problems that result when patients don’t complete outpatient therapy.

Her father had hand surgery but failed to do all of the exercises. That resulted in injuries that can’t be fixed without another round of surgery.

“We were lucky if we could get him to do it once a day. He was supposed to do it three times a day,” she said. “I think all of us are related to or know someone who has had an issue that can greatly benefit from this.”

She said her experiences with scoliosis gave rise to the original project idea, which morphed into the Bear Claw System.

During a demonstration Tuesday, Eichelberger, a 25-year-old senior majoring in computer science, said 300 million people around the world annually have hand injuries that the system could help repair. He said if the device was rented for $40 per month and if just a small fraction of the millions with injuries used the system, it could generate billions of dollars.

“It allows patients to do their exercises while playing a game,” he said. “That makes the process fun, and patients are going to be sure they’re doing their exercises properly.”

Tackett, who majored in art before switching to computer science and worked at Starbucks before deciding to return to school, said it took a team with diverse skills to devise the project.

Team members came from a human computer interaction class taught by Tansel Halic and a computer graphics class taught by Sinan Kockara. Those professors became mentors for the students, who kept working on the project after the semester ended.

“We came back because we want to finish,” Tackett said. “We were literally sleeping and living in the lab to get this done.”

Team Bears Unlimited will compete against 35 other finalists in the World Citizenship Competition. Steven Runge, provost and vice president for academic affairs at UCA, said more than 10,000 teams from 147 countries competed to become finalists in the category.

“‘World citizenship’ really means any product that’s going to help the world,” Enfinger said. “It’s definitely the most prestigious category and has the most people in it.”

Judges for the competition are professors and technology professionals from companies such as Twitter, Skype, Facebook and Microsoft.

UCA President Tom Courtway congratulated the team Tuesday at a practice demonstration.

“We’re very excited, and we’re honored that you’re going to be representing UCA and your country in this competition,” he said. “This is what higher ed is all about.”

The winners will be announced July 11. Members of Team Bears Unlimited were confident but know that they face stiff competition.

“In the 11 years that it’s been going, no U.S. team has ever won the Imagine Cup - until this year,” Eichelberger said, drawing applause from the audience.

Business, Pages 25 on 07/03/2013

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