Augmented Human Assistance (AHA)

Aging and sedentarism are two main challenges for social and health systems in modern societies. To face these challenges a new generation of ICT based solutions is being developed to promote active aging, prevent sedentarism and find new tools to support the large populations of patients that suffer chronic conditions as result of aging. Such solutions have the potential to transform healthcare by optimizing resource allocation, reducing costs, improving diagno ses and enabling novel therapies, thus increasing quality of life. The primary goal of the “AHA: Augmented Human Assistance” project is to de velop novel assistive technologies to promote exercise among the elderly and patients of motor disabilities. For exercise programs to be effective, it is essential that users and patients comply with the prescribed schedule and perform the ex ercises following established protocols. Until now this has been achieved by hu man monitoring in rehabilitation and therapy session, where the clinicians or therapists permanently accompany users or patient. In many cases, exercises are prescribed for home performance, in which case it is not possible to validate their execution. In this context, the AHA project is an integrative and cross-discipli nary approach of 4 Portuguese universities, the CMU, and 2 Portuguese industry partners, that combines innovation and fundamental research in the areas of hu man-computer interaction, robotics, serious games and physiological computing (see partner list in Appendix A). In the project, we capitalize on recent innova tions and aim at enriching the capabilities and range of application of assistive devices via the combination of (1) assistive robotics; (2) technologies that use well-understood motivational techniques to induce people to do their exercises in the first place, and to do them correctly and completely; (3) tailored and relevant guidance in regard to health care and social support and activities; and (4) tech nologies to self-monitoring and sharing of progress with health-care provider enabling clinicians to fine-tune the exercise regimen to suit the participant’s ac tual progress. We highlight the development of a set of exergames (serious games controlled by the movement of the user’s body limbs) specifically designed for the needs of the target population according to best practices in sports and human kinetics sciences. The games can be adapted to the limitations of the users (e.g. to play in a sitting position) so a large fraction of the population can benefit from them. The games can be executed with biofeedback provided from wearable sensors, to pro duce more controlled exercise benefits. The games can be played in multi-user settings, either in cooperative or competitive mode, to promote the social rela tions among players. The games contain regional motives to trigger memories from the past and other gamification techniques that keep the users involved in the exercise program. The games are projected in the environment through aug mented reality techniques that create a more immersive and engaging experience than conventional displays. Virtual coach techniques are able to monitor the cor rectness of the exercise and provide immediate guidance to the user, as well as providing reports for therapists. A socially assistive robot can play the role of the coach and provide an additional socio-cognitive dimension to the experience to complement the role of the therapist. A web service that records the users’ per formances and allows the authorized therapists to access and configure the exer cise program provides a valuable management tool for caregivers and clinical staff. It can also provide a social network for players, increasing adherence to the therapies. We have performed several end-user studies that validate the proposed ap proaches. Together, or in isolation, these solutions provide users, caregivers, health professionals and institutions, valuable tools for health promotion, disease monitoring and prevention.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development of an application for diagnosis, monitoring and rehabilitation of neurodegenerative diseases

The progress of healthcare over the last years led to an aging of the world population, increasing the prevalence of age-related diseases in the society, mainly neurodegenerative diseases. These pathologies currently affect more than 30 million people worldwide, and there is currently no cure for them. The high costs experienced by patients and their families are largely due to the individual monitoring performed by technicians. New technologies are providing alternatives for monitoring, diagnosis and rehabilitation of individuals with these diseases. This project includes the development of a web application which allows patients with neurodegenerative diseases to be monitored with less invasion and costs, enabling greater adherence. The application follows several examples from the literature for the construction of games, includes diagnostic assessments used in the medical field and promotes its use through gamification techniques. The construction of the web server used the Python language and the Flask framework because of the availability of useful modules, large supporting community and scalability. The software was specially designed for people with Parkinson’s disease, featuring a simple navigation between menus and an easy-to-use interface. The web application was named "Mentalist". The development of the application was followed by professional neurologists and the results obtained were guided by clinicians’ practice. According to these experts, the developed functionalities cover the most important aspects of diagnosis, monitoring and rehabilitation, making it a tool of high importance and applicability in daily clinical practiceA melhoria das condições de vida e dos cuidados de saúde nos últimos anos tem originado um envelhecimento da população mundial, aumentando a prevalência de doenças relacionadas com a idade. Neste grupo de doenças destacam-se as doenças neurodegenerativas, que afetam mais de 30 milhões de pessoas e não têm, atualmente, cura. Os elevados custos experienciados pelos pacientes e pelas suas famílias devem-se, em grande parte, ao acompanhamento individual realizado por técnicos. Novas tecnologias têm possibilitado alternativas para o acompanhamento, diagnóstico e reabilitação de indivíduos com estas doenças. Este projeto inclui o desenvolvimento de uma aplicação web que permite a monitorização de pacientes com menos invasão e custos, proporcionando uma maior adesão. A aplicação segue exemplos da literatura para a construção dos jogos, inclui questionários de diagnóstico utilizados no ramo médico e promove a sua utilização através de técnicas de gamificação. Foi utilizada a linguagem Python e o framework Flask para a construção do servidor devido à existência de módulos úteis, grande comunidade de desenvolvedores e escalabilidade. O software foi desenvolvido especialmente para pacientes com a doença de Parkinson, apresentando uma navegação simples entre menus e uma interface fácil de usar. A aplicação web foi denominada "Mentalist". O desenvolvimento da aplicação foi seguido por neurologistas profissionais e os resultados obtidos foram guiados pela experiência dos clínicos. De acordo com estes especialistas, as funcionalidades desenvolvidas contemplam os principais aspetos relativos ao diagnóstico, monitorização e reabilitação, tornando-a num instrumento de grande importância e aplicabilidade na prática clínica diári

Functional improvement of patients with Parkinson syndromes using a rehabilitation training software

IntroductionIndividuals with Parkinsonian disorders often face limited access to specialized physiotherapy and movement training due to staff shortages and increasing disease incidence, resulting in a rapid decline in mobility and feelings of despair. Addressing these challenges requires allocating adequate resources and implementing specialized training programs to ensure comprehensive care and support. Regarding these problems, a computer software was invented that might serve as an additional home-based extension to conventional physiotherapy.MethodsThe trial took place in a rehabilitation center where every patient received equivalent treatment apart from the training program that was set up to be investigated over 3 weeks. Seventy four Patients were included and randomized between two intervention and one control group. Intervention group 1 (IG1) trained with the computer-based system two times a week while Intervention group 2 (IG2) received five training sessions a week. Using the markerless Microsoft Kinect® camera, participants controlled a digital avatar with their own body movements. UPDRS-III and Clinical measurements were performed before and after the three-week period.ResultsPatients in all groups improved in UPDRS-III pre and post intervention whereas reduction rates were higher for IG1 (−10.89%) and IG2 (−14.04%) than for CG (−7.74%). Differences between the groups were not significant (value of ps CG/IG1 0.225, CG/IG2 0.347). Growth rates for the arm abduction angle were significantly higher in IG1 (11.6%) and IG2 (9.97%) than in CG (1.87%) (value of ps CG/IG1 0.006 and CG/IG2 0.018), as was the 5-steps-distance (CG 10.86% vs. IG1 24.5% vs. UG2 26.22%, value of ps CG/IG1 0.011 and CG/IG2 0.031).DiscussionThe study shows the beneficial effects of computer-based training and substantiates the assumption of a similar impact in a home-based setting. The utilized software is feasible for such interventions and meets with the patient’s approval. Group dynamics seem to have an additional supporting effect for the aspired objective of improving mobility and should be seen as an essential aspect of video games in therapy

Proceedings of the 6th Annual Meeting

Coimbra Health School - Annual Meeting 2020. 6th Annual Meeting. June 25th - 27th, 2020.N/

Physical Activity, Body Image, and Subjective Well‐Being

The notion of well‐being is in tight relation and sometimes used intercheangebly, with quality of life, physical and mental health promotion, good living, or happyness. Physical appearance is one of the first individual characteristics noticed by others and has an important impact on social interactions and therefore has become very important construct in contemporary societies. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the influence of physical exercise on the subjective well‐being dimension related to better health and eventually happiness. In contrast, the physical inactivity determined by the increasing amount of time spent in sedentary activities is becoming an issue with serious consequences, being the cause of more than 5 million death/year globally. Physical activity favorably influences mental health, improves the emotional state and reduces the incidence and severity of diseases and pathological conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, type II diabetes, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and obesity. Promoting physical activity, physical and health education and sport as healthy lifestyle components in schools, universities and lifelong learning targets the enhacement of vigour, resilience, employement, and social outcomes for graduates and comunities. Motives of physical inactivity were discussed aiming to underpin possible remedial solution for better health, quality of life and well-being

Once Upon a Time There Was Far Transfer

The last two decades have seen the rise of cognitive-training research. Strong claims have been made. Roaring refutations have been published. Then again counter-evidence supporting the effectiveness of cognitive training has been produced. Definite conclusions are far from being drawn. Undoubtedly, due to the potential theoretical and practical implications, the idea of enhancing cognitive function and, hence, a broad range of other real-life skills by training is appealing. However, this idea is at variance with substantial research into the psychology of expertise showing that performance in specific tasks relies massively on perceptual information. In fact, such information is hardly transferable across different domains. To solve these discrepancies, I ran a series of meta-analytic models to examine the effects of several types of cognitive training (i.e., chess, music, working memory, video-game, and exergame training) on cognitive and academic skills in different types of populations. None of the five types of cognitive training exerted any meaningful effect on any non-trained skill. While confirming the previous findings of the research on expertise, these results convincingly reject the cognitive-training hypothesis. The lack of generalization across different domains of skills acquired by training appears to be a constant in human cognition. The program of research of cognitive training has failed. Transfer of skills across loosely related domains remains a chimera

Animal-assisted therapy for Alzheimer patients using virtual reality

A doença de Alzheimer é a principal causa de demência. Trata-se de uma doença neurodegenerativa incurável que conduz a falhas cognitivas e problemas comportamentais. A demência constitui um enorme fardo social e económico para os doentes e para os cuidadores. A medicação ajuda a prevenir alguns sintomas da doença, mas não cura podendo revelar efeitos secundários indesejáveis. Algumas terapias alternativas têm vindo a ser exploradas, por exemplo a terapia animal (AAT). Para evitar as desvantagens da terapia animal, como a necessidade de treino, foi desenvolvida uma solução com realidade virtual. Realizamos um estudo com 12 pacientes diagnosticados com demência para perceber que tecnologias e modos de interação são mais adequados para esta população. Os resultados indicam que tecnologias com interação direta são mais adequadas (por exemplo Tablet ou AR). Foi desenvolvido um jogo de interação com animal para tablets. Realizou-se um estudo com 10 pacientes diagnosticados com demência num centro de dia. Este estudo tinha o objetivo de examinar a aplicabilidade desta ferramenta nesta população e perceber se uma sessão de terapia animal virtual poderia ter efeitos na disposição do participante, através da avaliação das suas respostas emocionais. Os participantes responderam a questionários pré- e pós-intervenção para obtenção de informação relativa ao seu estado emocional e à sua perceção da sessão de jogo. Foi utilizado um questionário destinado ao terapeuta que registou a sua opinião relativa aos efeitos no participante. Os resultados indicam melhorias na disposição dos participantes, uma boa aceitação e usabilidade desta abordagem e respostas emocionais positivas.The Alzheimer’s Disease is the main cause of dementia. It is incurable and regarded as a neurodegenerative disease that leads to cognitive and behavioral impairment. Dementia brings along a heavy burden from both a social and economic perspective. Traditional medication helps in slowing down the disease but is not able to cure it, and it may also bring undesirable side-effects. Alternative therapies are being further explored, being one of them Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT). To avoid the disadvantages of conventional AAT, such as the need for trained animals, or hygiene issues, a Virtual Reality approach was adopted. We conducted a pilot study with 12 dementia patients to understand which technologies and interaction modalities were preferred when developing for this population. Devices that promote direct interaction were preferred (Tablet and AR) so, combining the positive aspects of traditional AAT and the promising aid of VR, an animal interaction tablet game was developed for this population. This study, conducted with 10 dementia patients in a daily-care center, aimed to examine whether a session of virtual AAT was feasible and able to produce any changes in the mood of participants, evaluating the acceptance and emotional responses as well. Participants completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires to assess their mood and perception of the game session and a therapist was also asked to provide insight on each participant. Therapist’s reports and observations reveal positive mood changes, good acceptance by the patients and positive emotional responses