In partnership with
Your career will thank you.
Over 4 million professionals start their day with Morning Brew—because business news doesn’t have to be boring.
Each daily email breaks down the biggest stories in business, tech, and finance with clarity, wit, and relevance—so you're not just informed, you're actually interested.
Whether you’re leading meetings or just trying to keep up, Morning Brew helps you talk the talk without digging through social media or jargon-packed articles. And odds are, it’s already sitting in your coworker’s inbox—so you’ll have plenty to chat about.
It’s 100% free and takes less than 15 seconds to sign up, so try it today and see how Morning Brew is transforming business media for the better.
Hi!
Welcome to AIMedily.
Today I’ll share a story with you. I was 13 years old when my dad passed away from lung cancer.
He was only 47 — and also a medical doctor.
Back then, the survival rate for the type of lung cancer he had was around 6%. Today, it’s closer to 16%. It’s better, but still low considering how much radiology and oncology have advanced over the last three decades.
One of the things that excites me most about AI is the potential to change those numbers — not only for cancer, but also for conditions like multiple sclerosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), genetic, and other rare diseases.
How about you? What excites you most about the impact of AI in medicine?
Let’s dive into today’s issue.
🤖 AIBytes
This study tested OpenCap, a free 3D motion capture software, vs Timed Function Tests (which are traditional clinical assessments) in patients with neuromuscular disorders.
🔬 Methods
Participants: 129 total
28 with Facioscapulohumeral dystrophy
58 with Myotonic dystrophy (49 DM1, 9 DM2)
43 healthy controls
Software: OpenCap, an open-source, smartphone-based 3D motion capture. ✅Check OpenCap in action here (select from the column on the left).
9 movements Video recorded during 16 minutes:
Walk
Run
Sit-to-stand
Timed up-and-go
Calf raise
Jump
3 upper-limb tasks
From the videos, they extracted 34 movement features and then evaluated the ability to reproduce 4 Timed Function Tests:
10-meter walk
10-meter run
Timed up-and-go
5-times sit-to-stand
📊 Results
Video analysis reproduced all regular clinical assessments with similar reliability.
Video outperformed clinical evaluations at classifying disease (P=0.021).
- OpenCap: 82% accuracy.
- Clinical assessments 50%
OpenCap identified disease-specific signatures of movement, like gait kinematics data.
🔑 Key Takeaways
OpenCap can identify disease specific biomechanical impairment and subtle motor abnormalities.
Can collect data and analyze it in only 16 minutes.
Complements traditional assessments and helps classify neuromuscular disease.
Digital movement biomarkers correlate with clinical severity and scales.
💡Markerless computer vision methods can provide non-invasive, scalable tools for motor function assessment in neuromuscular disease.
💡Is OpenSource - free to use.
🔗Ruth PS, Uhlrich SD, de Monts C, et al. Video-Based Biomechanical Analysis Captures Disease-Specific Movement Signatures of Different Neuromuscular Diseases. NEJM AI. 2025;2(9). doi:10.1056/AIoa2401137
This study tested a new unified controller for powered knee-ankle prosthesis to enable continuous, natural ambulation across daily activities without pre-classifying tasks.
🔬 Methods
Device: Utah Bionic Leg, a powered knee-ankle prosthesis.
The controller was designed to adapt to user intent and environmental changes in real time.
Participants: 3 adults with unilateral above-knee amputation.
Protocol:
Walking at variable inclines (0%, 5%, 10%) and speeds.
Rough terrain walking (inclines/declines 10–40°)
Stair ascent/descent
Sit-to-stand and stand-to-sit
Transitions between walking and stairs
Real-world continuous ambulation test (outdoor/indoor sequence)
🎥See a video of a patient using the Utah Bionic Leg here.
📊 Results
The controller allowed continuous ambulation across all tested activities, including transitions.
The controller adapted to user intent and environmental changes, using biomechanical signals rather than pre-programmed activity modes.
🔑 Key Takeaways
The system allowed continuous mobility across different terrains and activities, without the need for explicit switching between task-specific controllers.
The controller provides coordinated knee and ankle assistance, adapting to user intent and context in real time.
💡This approach offers improved functional mobility and independence for individuals with above-knee amputation.
🔗 Sullivan LM, Cowan M, Gabert L, Lenzi T. Unified control of a powered knee-ankle prosthesis enables walking, stairs, transitions, and other daily ambulation activities. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng. 2025;33(8):3449-3457. doi:10.1109/TNSRE.2025.3595496
🦾TechTools
It is a search algorithm trained in 200M+ clinical studies, 147,000+ FDA inserts, and 2M drug interactions. Has up-to-date FDA and NIH data, and clinical guidelines. Gives you the medical references. Hospitals and institutions can add their data.
A real-time motion tracking that can be used on a smartphone or tablet. Can monitor posture, form, and range of motion with a smartphone camera, providing feedback to the patient and tracking improvement. It can create custom experiences.
Turns your course material (PDFs, handwritten notes, lecture videos, etc) into flashcards, practice tests, learning games, and study guides. Compatible with your computer, tablet or, smartphone in 80+ languages.
🧬AIMedily Snaps
Mayo Clinic developed an AI model that can predict amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and anticipate patient survival (Link).
A new research on Integrating artificial intelligence into medical education (Link).
Mount-Sinai will start using an AI model that helps determine which atrial fibrillation patients benefit from blood thinners to prevent stroke (Link).
Cleveland Clinic will use AI for clinical trial recruitment (Link).
🧩TriviaRX
Which Nobel laureate proved the adult human brain can generate new neurons?
A) Eric Kandel
B) Santiago Ramón y Cajal
C) Joseph Altman
D) Eriksson et al.
Now, let’s see if you got the correct answer from last week's TriviaRX.
✅ C) France.
Joseph Babinski, a french neurologist described the toe extension sign in upper motor neuron lesions.
That’s it for today.
As always, thank you for taking the time to read.
You’re already ahead of the curve on AI in rehabilitation — don’t keep it to yourself. Forward AIMedily to a colleague who’d appreciate the insights.
Until Friday.
Itzel Fer, MD PM&R
Forwarded this email? Sign up here
How did you like today's newsletter?
Daily News for Curious Minds
Be the smartest person in the room by reading 1440! Dive into 1440, where 4 million Americans find their daily, fact-based news fix. We navigate through 100+ sources to deliver a comprehensive roundup from every corner of the internet – politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a quick, 5-minute newsletter. It's completely free and devoid of bias or political influence, ensuring you get the facts straight. Subscribe to 1440 today.
