The digital solution allows stroke patients to perform assigned facial training routines at home, using Augmented Reality masks

Life Analytics has announced the launch of Facial Dynamics, a groundbreaking digital platform designed to transform facial rehabilitation through Augmented Reality and remote monitoring.

Developed in collaboration with clinicians and academics across the UK, Facial Dynamics provides stroke and tremor patients with access to high-quality neurorehabilitation from the comfort of their home, via a smartphone or tablet.

The end-to-end system, which is now live and ready to use, features a secure online dashboard where clinicians can assign facial movement routines to their patients and monitor compliance regularly.

The app then records the patient’s facial movements in real time and instantly transmits the data, including video and detailed motion graphs, back to the clinician for analysis.

The raw data produced is the ideal candidate for machine learning and AI to improve analysis and rehabilitation management further. 

James Coleman, Co-founder of Life Analytics and creator of Facial Dynamics, states: “Our driving goal with Facial Dynamics is to support patients to reintegrate into society while also easing pressures on overstretched clinicians and speech and language therapists.”

Empowering patients

Approximately 100,000 people have a stroke in the UK each year, half of whom require speech and language therapy to support their rehabilitation.

But traditional rehabilitation methods often fall short in helping patients to achieve a full range of facial motion.

“Patients want to be able to blink, eat and speak clearly. It’s not too much to ask,” says James.

“But there is a reluctance from some patients to perform their facial movement routines because they don’t want to confront themselves in the mirror. This comes from feedback from clinicians and people with lived experience.”

Facial Dynamics addresses this challenge head-on. Using Augmented Reality masks that mirror facial movements without showing the user’s face, the app helps patients overcome emotional barriers and restore their confidence.

On-screen instructions guide users through customised training, and real-time feedback confirms progress, eliminating the need for paper-based exercises and mirror checks.

Clinician-led, data-driven care

Feedback from clinicians suggests that there is currently a lack of objective data available for clinicians and academics regarding facial rehabilitation, including how consistently patients perform their facial training routines. Measurement is almost exclusively subjective and relies on paper-based processes introduced in the 1990s. 

The Facial Dynamics app tracks compliance and performance across 52 facial landmarks, as well as eye rotation and head movement, 60 times a second, providing valuable, detailed insights into recovery trajectories.

Demand on stroke rehabilitation services frequently exceeds demand. With Facial Dynamics, rehabilitation plans can be tailored to individual needs and remotely assigned, easing pressures on clinicians and speech and language therapists.

Notifications also help patients stay on track, and rehabilitation routines can be completed anywhere, even on the go.

Clinical feedback

Facial Dynamics was built in consultation with clinical partners from Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, Queen Victoria Hospital and Staffordshire Early Supported Discharge.

Mark Chalmers, Speech and Language Therapist in the Stafford Community Stroke Team, said: “I’ve been using the Facial Dynamics app with patients experiencing an oral phase of dysphagia or some facial weakness that they’re self-conscious about.

“It’s incredibly useful to assign exercises and monitor progress in real time. Patients appreciate the immediate feedback and the ability to track their own improvement.

“Our team will now be training on the full end-to-end service so we can manage and monitor patients remotely as well as face-to-face.”

Facial Dynamics is now expanding its reach and seeking further case studies to demonstrate impact across diverse care settings.

“This isn’t something patients are resisting; they’re asking for it,” says James. “We’ve seen enthusiasm from our clinical partners and their patients, and now we’re looking to scale and support more people on their recovery journey.”

Next-generation features

Responding to user feedback, Facial Dynamics offers a range of visual options for patients, from blurred self-images to realistic avatars and mirrored facial movement therapy, where the unaffected side of a patient’s face is mirrored onto the affected side, creating symmetry.

Evidence suggests that mirror therapy is effective in retraining damaged facial nerves by ‘fooling’ the brain into believing that both sides of the face are unaffected by facial palsy.

The platform also has the capabilities to support nutritional and emotional wellbeing, by helping improve facial functions like chewing and smiling, boosting both confidence and quality of life.

Looking ahead, Life Analytics believes the facial Dynamics platform will enable stroke survivors and others with chronic facial palsy to resume social activities and return to work.

“This has the potential to be really big. There are currently 1.4 million existing stroke survivors in the UK and a third of those will experience chronic facial palsy. So that’s around 460,000 people living with facial palsy caused by a stroke alone. What’s more, a quarter of stroke survivors are under 65, many of whom are no longer working or even going out with friends,” says James.

Supporting diagnostics

Going forward, Life Analytics hopes to support health professionals, including paramedics, to diagnose strokes using Facial Dynamics.

In some parts of the country, patients are already being clinically assessed via video call in the back of ambulances to determine whether they have had a stroke, before they are referred to hospital.

James explains: “The ambulance crew will have a video call with a stroke clinician at the A&E department. This expert will then evaluate the patient and determine whether they have likely had a stroke. If they have, they will be brought to the specialist stroke department. However, if not they will be taken to a more generic emergency department. This reduces the load on specialist services.”

The downside with this is triage service is that an expert clinician must be on-hand in A&E to assess the patient. It also requires a strong data connection between the ambulance and the hospital, which isn’t always available, especially in rural areas.

“Our product has the potential to detect stroke, and event to detect the difference between a stroke and other conditions which have very similar facial symptoms,” James says.

“This could be done in the back of an ambulance with an iPad or an iPhone, without requiring a remote clinician or a data connection.”

Facial Dynamics is now live and ready to use. For more information and to book a demonstration, visit https://www.life-analytics.co.uk/