Student Team Develops Physical Therapy Tool at Columbia Hackathon

HackingHealth, organized by the Columbia Biomedical Engineering Society, was held in early February in New York City. The hackathon focused on precision and personalized medicine, with tracks in genomics, molecular therapeutics, and marginalized groups. More than 150 participants attended, representing a wide range of academic and professional backgrounds.

During the event, I worked with Trisha Mehta and Doorva Garg from Stony Brook University. The team developed REV!VE, a solution designed to support post-physical therapy patients through real-time, range-of-motion tracking. The system uses four sensors to track the coordinates of three body points, allowing for live feedback on form and completion of exercises.

REV!VE was born from a desire to not only address patient health challenges, but to create a long-term solution for physical therapy patients who struggle to stick to their recovery plans. Data from the National Institutes of Health indicates that 55% of patients self-discharge from treatment, with average no-show and cancelation rates of 17% and 10.2%, respectively. The team aimed to create a solution that could improve adherence and integrate with existing health care systems.

Our project was recognized as a finalist overall and placed second in the underserved populations track. Mehta and Garg have moved on to other projects, but I am continuing work on the product with Kavya Venkatesan at the University of Pennsylvania, focusing on refining the technology and expanding its application. The aim is to scale up and integrate with health care systems.

Looking back at my experience at HackingHealth, I’m reminded that health care innovation is not just about technology—it’s about people. It’s about understanding the challenges we face, listening to patients, and using empathy to find solutions. By collaborating with hospitals and physical therapy clinics, we can ease the burden on health care providers while making the nation healthier.

Angela Choi

Angela Choi is a student at the University of Pennsylvania studying physics. She does research at the Miskin Lab on Microrobots and at the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy on Green Energy Adoption.