Across the country, patients need physical therapy to heal from surgery or injuries. The need for therapists is rapidly increasing, yet it’s difficult to find enough skilled professionals. This is especially true in rural areas.

The Rehab Lab Team is working to help solve this problem by developing innovative research and insights to enable patients to gain more function, heal faster, and enjoy greater ability and independence. The hospital’s design celebrates this work and reflects the client’s focus on ability over disability, says Abigail Clary, director of health at HDR and principal for the project.

For example, the Rehab Lab at RIC is housed in a forward-looking space with floor-to-ceiling windows that showcase its work. Its interdisciplinary teams include engineers, architects, and rehabilitation professionals who collaborate to develop new research that aims to help patients recover more quickly and achieve better outcomes.

Rehab Lab Team: Meet the Experts Leading Your Rehabilitation

One of the team’s latest efforts is an integrated FabLab designed to manufacture assistive devices using 3D printing. This innovation has already been transferred to three other adopters, demonstrating the effectiveness of this concept for manufacturing assistive devices.

Another new effort is a system that uses optical motion tracking and electrical impedance tomography to measure muscle engagement during unsupervised physical rehabilitation. Called MuscleRehab, the system can detect when a patient isn’t progressing and alert them to reach out to their physical therapist.

Scientists at the VTC Smart Rehab Lab are working on a similar, affordable system called SARAH to connect stroke survivors with telerehabilitation. This effort, which received a $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation, is a partnership between Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering and Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, and Carilion Clinic. It will use cellular connections to enable the system to be used by patients throughout Carilion’s 20-county service area, including many rural communities without high-speed internet.…

Whether used to manage client records, handle employee scheduling or facilitate communication, dental software programs can have numerous benefits. They streamline administrative functions, such as appointment scheduling and patient registration, and allow staff to focus more on the core service of caring for patients. They also improve operational efficiency, minimizing the risk of data errors that can compromise financial transactions and insurance claims.

Top Dental Software Programs to Streamline Your Practice

Among other features, dental software programs enable dentists to access detailed records on patients’ histories and treatments, leading to more informed decision-making, improved treatment strategies, and higher quality care. They also help dentists engage with patients through online patient portals, text and email reminders, and more. Moreover, some programs offer a communications system, allowing staff to track call volume and other metrics to improve front-office operations.

Some of the best dental software programs are available as cloud-based solutions, which make it easy for practitioners to access data securely from any location that can connect to the internet. They offer features such as electronic charts, custom reporting, and a user-friendly mobile application to facilitate documentation on the go. They are suitable for small, medium, and large-sized practices. Examples include Henry Schein One, a global health care company that provides software and supplies for dentistry and other healthcare services, Open Dental, an open-source server-based solution with charting, billing, and practice management capabilities, and Lighthouse 360, which offers a communications system for patient engagement. They are also HIPAA compliant.…