The Next Kinect At Jintronix, we’re constantly fascinated by the way depth sensing technologies have been drastically improving over the recent years. Currently, we’re developing the Jintronix Rehabilitation System with Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows sensor, a relatively low cost device that allows the user’s movements to easily be captured and interpreted by our software to provide clinical insight. On the development side, it’s been quite enjoyable to work with, and the people currently using our system enjoy its simplicity and support for natural movements. Yesterday, Microsoft unveiled the next generation of their Xbox entertainment platform, the Xbox One. With this announcement came news of the next iteration of the Kinect sensor. Brilliant! Bigger numbers, better speeds, tech specs and whatnot are always exciting to read, but nothing can really excite you about new technology like a good demo: Gizmodo: Kinect 2 Full Video Walkthrough: The Xbox Sees You Like Never
Read more →What I’ve Learned at Jintronix One of the things I like most about being a developer is soaking in the culture and knowledge of the area I’m working in. In my previous jobs, I learned about wine making, e-health and e-commerce. So have I learned so far during my time at Jintronix? I learned about brain neuroplasticity or how human beings after they accidently lose the capacity to move half of their body, are able to teach another part of their brain to take over. I learned that one of the challenges patients are facing while engaging in the physical rehabilitation process is commitment. I learned that not the same movements and body parts are involved when lifting the arm with palm facing down or palm facing up. I learned about Protected Health Information and how as a company who handles sensitive information for patients, we have to protect this
Read more →Montreal: Meet Jintronix Being a start-up company focused in a very new application of technology, it can be a challenging process to define an identity for ourselves that is easily recognizable and understandable by anyone who is, well, not in the company. And so, what better way to introduce ourselves and our product to the community than by inviting them into our little workshop? On Thursday, May 2nd, we hosted our very first wine & cheese event at our Montreal office. Practicing and upcoming clinicians, physical and occupational therapists and kinesiologists came to see what we had to offer, and it turned out so much better than we could have ever hoped for. Not only did we have the opportunity to show the Jintronix Rehabilitation System, but we had the pleasure of engaging in insightful conversations with like-minded passionate medical practitioners, sparking creativity and discovering new possibilities in the way
Read more →Here’s a little thing about video games… By Lex Youssef There’s no denying that video games don’t have a glowing reputation as constructive forms of entertainment. Today’s tragedies that result from gun violence eventually link to the influence of interactive entertainment through mainstream journalism; and it’s quite easy for someone to make that connection, whether or not one agrees with it. The most popular titles engage players in a high-adrenaline, reflex based competitive arena; digital people shooting other digital people to stay on top and claim their status as the best warrior. I’m not denying that I’ve played these games. When I’m not developing, designing, acting or singing (he does what now?), I love to unwind and flex the geek muscles to make sure they don’t atrophy. However, and while this may be obvious to some, I think it’s important to state that the diversity of video game genres and
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Last week Jintronix attended TEDMED 2013, a weeklong event focused around health and medicine. Speakers included doctors, inventors, artists and even Richard Simmons. This was not your typical medical conference and in an effort to expand itself, TEDMED created the HIVE, a cluster of 50 young companies that are creating innovative solutions to some of healthcare’s most challenging issues today. Jintronix was chosen as one of these 50 companies and we had the pleasure of exhibiting our work. The thing I enjoyed most about TEDMED was how different it was from typical conventions. It really practiced what it preached, with healthy food being served for meals, lounge areas for people to relax and have conversations with new friends, and even musical guests. It was a holistic approach to creating awareness like I have never really seen before. And I think that is the key, awareness. It was not necessarily trying
Read more →First let me preface this by saying, I am not a physical therapist. I know many physical therapists, and other specialists that work in the field, but I myself am not in any way a medical practitioner. I do have the utmost respect for them, and I am consistently amazed by how friendly and selfless all the practitioners in the field are. I think this is one of the reasons why I am so driven to help develop new tools for them and their patients/clients. When I started working at Jintronix, I began to visit a lot of physical rehabilitation clinics and speak to a great deal of clinicians. One thing I began to notice, wherever I went, was the lack of technology used. I think the most advanced piece of hardware I saw was an electric treadmill. The reasons for this is simple, physical therapy works, and as the
Read more →Recently the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada published an article on how “Video games show promise in stroke rehab”. While I already knew of the information in the article, I thought it was very well written and will go a long way in increasing awareness of virtual reality rehabilitation. The article interviews Dr. Saposnik, who has explored the use of the Nintendo Wii as a tool for stroke rehabilitation. This is not new to us. We have spoken to dozens of clinicians who use the Nintendo Wii for the same reasons, often because it is low cost, easy to use, and fun. What is surprising to me is that the Nintendo Wii was released back in 2006, and it is still one of the most widely used virtual rehabilitation devices in the market. It was not even designed for physical therapy! When we ask therapists what they like about
Read more →Being in a start up is a lot of work, and there is always more to do. You begin to develop tunnel vision, you can’t stop thinking about the next push, and you never let yourself rest. We are all guilty of this as individuals, but also as a team. That is why it is so important to take the time to recognize your accomplishments, and celebrate them. At Jintronix this is normally in the form of a celebratory dinner. Just recently we went to Casa Grecque to celebrate the successful closing of our seed round with Madrona Venture Group. We ordered some food for the table, and shared a few bottles of wine. It was good to have the whole team relax for a few moments and enjoy our accomplishments. I find it is also important to celebrate the small victories. Maybe you just finished a lengthy report, or
Read more →I was reading a post online a few weeks ago when I came across a new guideline for Game Accessibility. The guide (found here) provides a framework for developers who are trying to make their games more accessible to gamers with some form of disability. Accessibility, according to them, means “avoiding unnecessary barriers that prevent people with a range of impairments from accessing or enjoying your output”. Accessibility is an issue Jintronix has been trying to tackle from day one, so I was really happy, both as a professional and a gamer, to see this guide come into existence. The way in which we originally meant to increase access was by providing stroke survivors with a means of accessing physical rehabilitation regardless of their location and proximity to a physical therapy center. As we began to develop our system however, the scope of that goal grew. Stroke survivors may be
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At Jintronix, we use the Microsoft Kinect for Windows to capture a patient’s motions, allowing them to participate in meaningful and fun physical rehabilitation. This was not always the case. Read More
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