Augmented Reality & AI/Computer Vision Technology for Enhanced & More Efficient, Remote Individual and Group Physiotherapy in COVID settings & for environmental sustainability

**Project idea:** will be shaped and informed by customer Circle Health along with leading Artificial Intelligence and Physiotherapy experts at EQL who will develop (Phase 1) a technical specification for a cost-effective, practical and innovative interoperable AI/AR (Augmented Reality) technology to provide home-based rehabilitation for musculoskeletal patients, including those recovering from e.g. knee or hip replacements, etc. This tool, the EQL-Online-AR app, will provide physiotherapy businesses with a means by which they can 'see' their patients and continue providing paid rehabilitation support -- protecting the sector/jobs and the continuity of a needed service. Key requirements for R&D focus, it must: * use AR to generate a bespoke avatar that mirrors the patient's body in real time so this data can be used to accurately understand their MSK 'issues' to better inform physio decision-making and interact with the patient, and to make clear comparisons at each session to chart recovery progress and quickly identify any ongoing problems * utilise the technology that the patient already owns (smartphone, tablet, PC/Mac, etc) regardless of platform to ensure cost-effectiveness * overcome environmental barriers (such as light quality and camera stability) * be intuitive to use to maximise take-up by physio businesses and their patients. Phase 2 of this project will take the learning from Phase 1, to build and test EQL-Online-AR with Circle Health providing a real-world test environment and scenarios. **Building back better:** The EQL project aims to reduce unnecessary journeys and reduce carbon (in line with the UK's Net-Zero Carbon goal). Pre-pandemic there were c6,500,000 private appointments in the UK every year. Approximately 60% of these would have involved the patient making a journey by car or taxi. The specific theme that this project supports is therefore improving business and industry efficiency. **Covid impact:** there are circa 70,000 physiotherapists in the UK and ~ 7,700 working in private practice (including micro-SMEs) \[1,7\]. Since the pandemic some of the healthcare providers in this space have seen up to 90% reduction in business since Covid-19\. This threatens these and other private physiotherapy businesses with closure due to loss of revenue, which puts at risk circa 8,855 jobs (physios and support workers) in this highly qualified UK industry.