For Raffi Rembrand, necessity was definitely the mother of his invention. An
Israeli engineer and father to a son with autism, Rembrand was well aware of
the difficulties of raising a child with severe autism.
He had devoured all the information about the well established treatment of
deep pressure touch to produce a calming effect in agitated individuals with
autism. However, he discovered that most existing devices were more like
straightjackets and weren't sensitive to changes in the patient's movement
and couldn't regulate the pressure based on the patient's needs or body
gauges.
An inventor by nature, Rembrand began tinkering in his home until he came up
with the idea of a light, wearable, vest-like calming device that's both
portable and non-restraining.
Working through a few prototypes of that 'home remedy' makeshift device has
resulted in the BioHug - a vest for both people with autism and and children
diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
The BioHug delivers a mildly pulsating pressure through the use of
inflatable cells placed throughout the garment and includes a biofeedback
mechanism which automatically regulates the level of stimulation.
According to Center for Disease Control, one out of every 150 children in
the US suffers from a disorder which falls somewhere on the autism spectrum,
ranging from Asperger's Syndrome on one end to severe autism on the other.
ADHD is much more prevalent, however, with millions of children diagnosed
with the learning disorder.
"It was very much an improvisational exercise," says Rembrand, describing
how he developed the BioHug. "The idea of inflatable bubble cells is used
for people with pressure wounds to keep them from getting infected. I took a
little from here and a little from there. There wasn't any patent, it was
just a nice development,"
"I approached ALUT (the Israeli Society for Autistic Children) and said,
'here's a simple idea which might help the kids - I've tested it on my son,
and on other people with autism.'
They were so impressed that they implored Rembrand to take it out of the
'amateur' sphere and develop a scientifically tested, professional device
that could be made available to all people with autism. For expert advice,
he approached Dr. Einat Gal a clinical researcher at the University of
Haifa, who continues to collaborate on the development of the BioHug
Still Rembrand wasn't satisfied. "Everyone told me 'you know this invention
is way too simple'. It has a very low technological barrier, so I said OK if
this is what needs to be done, I'll add some technology to it - which is how
we came to include biofeedback."
According to Rembrand, the device measures the user's stress, and that
stress actually controls the BioHug's pressure and pulsation rate. A change
in the stress counter will cause adjustment to the pulsation rate and amount
of pressure.
Earlier this year, Rembrand founded BioHug Technologies Ltd. to
commercialize the device and was accepted into the Chief Scientist of Israel
incubator program - via L.N. Innovative Technologies in Haifa.
He also found a kindred soul in Andrew Schiffmiller, a veteran manager and
consultant, who took up the position of CEO.
"The BioHug is unique among all other types of pressure-based devices for
people with autism because we solve the problem of habituation,"
Schiffmiller told ISRAEL21c.
"Try it yourself - gently pinch your wrist - you feel it, but if you keep
doing it, after a short while you don't feel it anymore. Your body gets used
to it. Through the pulsation feature on the BioHug, we reduce the
habituation so the sensation of pressure on the user will continue, because
it's always changing."
According to Schiffmiller, the original reason Rembrand - who acts as
BioHug's chief technological officer - invented the BioHug concept wasn't
just to keep his son calm, but to conduct tests on a theory he had
researched regarding hearing.
"There's a body of suggestive evidence that people with autism hear
differently than other people. When you put a shell to your ear and you
think you hear the ocean - it's called otoacoustic emissions - produced by
the inner ear itself which is thought to have some role in filtering out
background noise," Schiffmiller explained.
"The working theory was that there's a difference in the otoacoustic
emissions of people with autism - if that's true and you can quantify it,
then you can have a purely empirical way of diagnosing autism - even in
infants."
But the problem is, how do you get naturally fidgety people with autism to
sit till long enough to conduct an ear exam? And according to Rembrand and
Schiffmiller, the BioHug is the solution.
They're still revising the design of the BioHug before they actually begin
clinical testing, discussing issues of whether the compressor will be in the
vest or an accompanying backpack and other design issues. But according the
feedback they've received from students with autism who've tried the device
and from professionals in the field, they're on the right track.
"Every time we build a prototype, we go back to the Horsha school for
children with autism that Rafi has a good relationship with, we give it to
the staff, they play with, try it on and give us their suggestions," said
Schiffmiller. "Since these are people that work with children with autism
every day and they themselves are experienced in the application of the
pressure, they've been great sounding boards for us."
"And they're still using my first prototype at the school," added Rembrand.
Both Schiffmiller and Rembrand are confident that the BioHug represents a
huge leap in the field of controlled pressure devices for patients with
autism. Some devices are based on the principle of weight, where weighted
garments place pressure on the user's shoulders. But Schiffmiller claims
there are two drawbacks to that type of therapy.
"One is the issue of habituation - after a few minutes, you don't really
feel it. And two, in order to be effective, the total weight needs to about
10 percent of the wearer's body weight - that's heavy, especially if you're
talking about adults."
And then there's a device invented a decade ago by Temple Grandon - a very
high functioning person with autism in the US - who created a machine that's
based on restraining chute for cattle.
"As a child, she always craved pressure. Once when she was visiting her
uncle's farm, she saw him using a restraining chute for the cattle, and she
climbed in and found that the pressure helped calm her," explained
Schiffmiller.
"Her device is large and cumbersome - about 350 pounds and uses an
industrial air compressor. What Rafi has done - in essence - is to
miniaturize that process into the BioHug."
Depending on the population, the BioHug can function in a number of
different ways, says Schiffmiller. For ADHD students, it could be worn at
homework time enabling the user to concentrate and stay on task. And with
people with autism who sometimes suffer through periods of severe agitation,
it's a tool to help them calm down.
"With some some people with autism, the possibility exists that they may
hurt themselves, or hurt others, and the BioHug is an effective way to get
them to relax," he said.
Rembrand is confident that the BioHug will prove to be a useful device for
the families of children with autism. And he only has to look as far as his
own son, Jacob, now 23 years old.
"He's my primary beta tester. And if he says it's good, then we know it's
good."
By David Brinn
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