Across the Cloud Pty Ltd

Developing the Talk For Me app for alternative communication post-stroke and wearable sensors to track physical rehabilitation progress.

Team Size:
1
Location:
Australia
Founders:
Matthew Berryman
Program(s):

The Problem

Each year over 27,000 Australians will experience stroke for the first time in the lives. One stroke occurs every 19 minutes. The number of strokes and Australians living with stroke is expected to grow to 819,900 by 2050 [3]. Up to 38% of stroke survivors can suffer from aphasia (difficulty with speech). Aphasia can also occur from traumatic brain injury. Other causes of speech difficulties include apraxia (problems coordinating the muscles involved in speech), psychological conditions, autism, etc. Strokes and other brain injuries also cause difficulties with motion and / or body temperature regulation. (Note: although my company has been going for a while, it has mostly been an activity done outside of my main job, but following my stroke in 2022, is now my main source of income because I need greater flexibility of work hours, and is now refocussed on assisting stroke survivors).

The Solution

I am in the process of developing two solutions: 1. Talk For Me, an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) app based around my lived experience following my stroke, which left me unable to speak at all for a period of 3 weeks, and also (temporarily) without the use of my right (dominant) hand and thus typing was incredibly slow, hence the strong focus on AI, currently image recognition and optical character recognition. 2. Movesense make wearable sensors for tracking temperature, movement, and / or heart rate. I am currently working on a diving physiology monitoring project for the University of Wollongong where I have successfully developed: Sensor firmware (code) for tracking and recording activity, including when out of Bluetooth range (i.e. underwater) Companion mobile apps (both Android and iOS) A data analytics and visualisation platform. I would like to extend this to stroke and other TBI patients, to monitor movement and body temperature through rehabilitation.