Toronto-based Theia’s 3D motion-capture technology is playing a key role in a study that could help healthcare workers better avoid a common workplace injury.
The tech company announced on Tuesday morning that it’s collaborating with New Brunswick researchers to help evaluate whether a patient-turnover device—which helps caregivers turn patients over in hospital beds—could meaningfully reduce their risk of injury.
“Historically, this would have been very tricky—probably impossible to do.”
Marcus Brown, Theia
The researchers are tracking healthcare workers’ movements as they use Vendlet, a device made by European company DHG Denmark, to reposition “simulated patients,” which are actually members of the research team posing as patients. By comparing the motion data of the caregivers who used Vendlet when lifting to those who didn’t, the study aims to measure if the device makes the action less physically strenuous.
Musculoskeletal injuries are one of the most common causes of time loss in the Canadian workers’ compensation system, according to the BC Nurses’ Union. For nurses and healthcare support staff, patient lifts and transfers are a leading culprit, as they can place intense strain on the lower back. Vendlet’s tech was previously shown to reduce physical strain on the caregiver when repositioning a patient, but the tech hasn’t yet been proven in Canada.
That’s where Theia comes in. The company’s machine learning platform can generate 3D biomechanical data from video alone, without requiring those being observed to be labelled with tracking markers or other attachments. It’s intended to allow researchers to measure a vast amount of data with less time and effort.
“Historically, this would have been very tricky—probably impossible to do,” Theia CEO Marcus Brown told BetaKit in an interview. Without Theia, both the patient and the caregiver in more than 500 trials would have had to be labelled with reflective markers.
Researchers Michelle Cardoso, from the Université de Moncton, and Wayne Albert, a dean at the University of New Brunswick and head of its Occupational Performance Lab, are leading the study, which was funded by the Workers’ Compensation Board and WorkSafe Saskatchewan, as well as nonprofit organization Mitacs. Results are expected by December 2026.
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“[Theia’s] measurements provide the evidence we need to evaluate new technologies and determine which approaches can reduce the physical demands placed on caregivers,” Albert said in a press release.
Theia’s flagship product, Theia3D, turns video data from multiple cameras into biomechanical data that maps movement onto a 3D skeletal model, analyzing how joints move in space. The company also says video data is analyzed locally, reducing privacy concerns about data being sent to a cloud provider.
Though it’s had deployments in healthcare, Theia’s tech has applications in sports analytics, too. Last year, the NBA selected the company as one of four partners for its biomechanics pilot program, which helps athletes analyze their movements on the court.
Brown said that Theia sells its platform to research labs studying biomechanics as well as companies looking to analyze worker movement: for example, to figure out what repetitive movements lead to potential injury, and develop associated training plans. He did not disclose the company’s revenue but said it was north of $5 million CAD annually.
Feature image courtesy Theia.