Collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital Reaches Milestone During National Autism Awareness Month, Shows Promise of Augmented Reality in Early Intervention
PTC Explores the Use of Augmented Reality Technology for Autism
A press release dated April 24 2018 about AREA member PTC: PTC explores the use of augmented reality in early intervention for children with autism with Dr. Howard Shane of Boston Children’s Hospital and professor at Harvard Medical School.
PTC today announced its collaboration with Boston Children’s Hospital, the number one pediatric hospital in the United States, to explore the use of augmented reality (AR) to help children with autism and related disorders communicate and learn more effectively.
The intersection of healthcare and technology is only beginning, and we are excited that PTC, a global leader in IoT and AR technology, is working with us to explore different use cases. Augmented reality addresses two of the biggest challenges facing a child with autism: communication and attention,” said Dr. Howard Shane. “With AR, a child with autism could ‘see’ a cup become a spaceship and engage in pretend play, or ‘see’ the steps to brush their teeth right in the context of their own physical environment. Simple tasks that are challenging for those with ASD can be shown and communicated with AR in a way that is more meaningful to them.”
A team of PTC employees volunteered countless hours to research and understand autism and the requirements for an effective AR solution. Once the team understood how to best develop applications for an autistic child, they quickly reached a project milestone by completing a prototype solution. In the next phase, an app, created for children with autism and a developmental age of three to five years old, will be clinically tested and evaluated for continued improvement. Dr. Shane will discuss the project in more detail for media and analysts in a session at the upcoming LiveWorx conference held in Boston on June 17-20th.
The full press release can be read here.
PTC’s AREA member profile can be read here.