Peabody SmartInstrument Series (PSI Series): Peabody SmartGuitar, Peabody SmartViolin, Peabody SmartViola, Peabody SmartCello

Unmet Need: Repetitive motion injuries to the musculoskeletal and nervous systems  are among the most common injuries in the U. S.  They are a significant problem for professional musicians, student-musicians as well as amateur instrumentalists related to their many hours of practice and performance.   Millions of musicians in the U.S. have significant pain in their arms, hands and necks from playing a string instrument, such as the guitar. Some of issues are related non-optimal positioning of the hands and the use of excessive force on the instrument strings. There is a need for a device and method to determine when a musician is using an inefficient playing technique so that the musician can alter their technique to recover from previous injury or learn to avoid injury. JHU faculty has invented a device designed to measure and report the mechanical forces applied to instrument strings, as well as the fretboard and fingerboards of these instruments during play .

Technology Overview:  Dr. Bastepe-Gray has developed a force sensing technology to be embedded in stringed instruments to measure finger force applied to the strings and the fretboard/fingerboard of the instrument. The time-dependent data is collected and displayed in real time in a software interface.  The real time data is useful for training or rehabilitation of musicians with feedback-enriched learning to produce optimal sound with a minimum of physical strain. The devices can be used in ergonomic assessment and intervention outcomes monitoring in the musician work-place and clinical settings. The force sensors can be used without altering the feel of the strings or the operation of sound producing mechanisms. Can be used as a research tool for studies of occupational biomechanics and work-related upper extremity biomechanical exposure of musicians.
Stage of Development:  Prototype
Publications:  Johns Hopkins Magazine. Fall 2016
 

Category(s):