In-bed weight monitor for adults who use wheelchairs
Official title: Development and Commercialization of a weight monitoring platform for wheelchair users
Funded at Nurelm E-Business Software · NIH-11174246 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project is making a bed-mounted device that automatically tracks body weight to help adults who use wheelchairs manage their weight and health.
Quick facts
| Grant type | Sbir 2 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Nurelm E-Business Software NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Pittsburgh, United States) |
| Project start | August 21, 2024 |
| Project end | July 31, 2026 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $884,788 |
| NIH project number | 5R44HD114504-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11174246 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults who regularly use a wheelchair and have difficulty self-weighing, especially those trying to lose weight or manage weight-related health issues, would be best suited to participate.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not sleep in a conventional bed, children, or those who are not wheelchair users are unlikely to benefit from this bed-integrated monitoring system.
What this research studies
If you use a wheelchair and have trouble weighing yourself, this device is designed to be installed in your bed and measure weight passively during normal use. The team will finish design updates and test the system to see if it can support weight-loss efforts for wheelchair users. FIT has been technically proven in prior work and aims to provide regular, real-world weight data without extra effort from you. The platform is also intended to support care for related conditions like heart failure and pressure injuries by giving clinicians and you more consistent monitoring data.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, wheelchair users could get regular, automatic weight readings at home to help with weight management and medical care.
How similar studies have gone: Remote and passive health-monitoring tools have shown promise in other populations, but passive in-bed weight tracking specifically for wheelchair users is relatively new and less tested.
Where this research is happening
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Nurelm E-Business Software
Pittsburgh, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Shaaban, Sami — Nurelm E-Business Software
- Study coordinator: Shaaban, Sami
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.