“Each appointment is like a 30-minute video call, but it's created just for you, except that the call's side is created in real time by the AI engine,” explains Flok Health on the website. “You can answer questions and Digital Physio responds to you live with a continuous, personal video stream.”
Patients will also be prescribed a series of exercises for next week, prior to their next appointment. FLOK Health says the exercise is specially selected based on a “detailed analysis of symptoms and exercise patterns.” The app also guides patients to practice exercises during appointments and helps them to see progress and stay on track.
Patients also have access to human physiotherapists and physicians. The company said it could arrange to monitor patient recovery remotely and speak to patients if they have questions.
BBC's Scott Norver tried the app in March I wrote it About his experience as an AI-generated physiotherapist named “Kirsty.” He discovers that her recommendations are lacking, and his main complaint is that Kirsty was unable to modify his form in real time like a live therapist.
“The big difference here is that Kirsty can't see me. Her pre-recorded videos don't see my movements and are stretching. They follow her instructions and rely on me correctly and report whether something is wrong or not,” writes Nover.
“After my session with Flok, my back felt better, but the app is probably not for me. I'm clumsy and unadjusted so someone should be looking at my form all the time.
However, we were able to see myopia scenarios where AI could use similar technologies to those used in gaming counsels, allowing AI to analyze patient shapes in real time. Xbox Kinect.
Norver pointed out 2024 too study We found that in a similar AI-driven back pain treatment called self-back, it is unlikely that patients will use it. Nearly a third of patients had access to the app, and another third rarely used it.
Blowing the app is definitely easier than blowing away your face-to-face physical therapy appointment with a real person.
As a patient, I was sometimes given a referral to my personal therapy. It also links to related videos and involves handouts provided to me at other times.
Frankly, this FLOK Health app sounds like the latter. And when no actual physiotherapist was involved, I confess that I am far less likely to follow a physiotherapy treatment plan.
At the same time, physical therapy can be extremely expensive, at least in the United States, especially when there is a high co-payment for each session. Therefore, having an inexpensive treatment option is a good thing. It is unclear when the herd will be widely available to patients in the US.
While we are skeptical that AI will soon completely replace physical therapists, it appears that tech companies are hoping to be able to create big dents with client base and latency.
