AiTreat, a Singapore robotics firm, is set to embark on a new product evaluation and clinical trial in the United States and Singapore. The evaluation will take place at Mayo Clinic in the US and involve using the AiTreat massage robot powered by artificial intelligence. Furthermore, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) is being planned in Singapore to compare the massage robot’s efficacy with existing therapies such as manual Tuina, a massage primarily used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in managing and reducing chronic low back pain.
The RCT will be jointly executed and managed by the biomedical sciences and Chinese medicine program at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), and Singapore General Hospital (SGH). The trial will involve using EMMA — short for Expert Manipulative Massage Automation — AiTreat’s flagship product. AiTreat is a start-up incubated by NTU Singapore through its innovation and enterprise company, NTUitive.
The product evaluation in the US and clinical trial in Singapore will benefit massage robot technology’s advancement. They can provide relief to people suffering from chronic low back pain. The trial and evaluation will provide more insight into the efficacy of the massage robot and help determine the effects of manual Tuina in conjunction with the massage robot.
The trial and evaluation will also benefit AiTreat and its partners by providing valuable data that could be used for marketing and product development purposes. The successful completion of the trial and evaluation could lead to the wider deployment and adoption of the AiTreat massage robot worldwide. This could reduce the physical burden on massage therapists and medical practitioners while providing the same level of relief to people suffering from chronic pain.