Stroke Patient Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study of an Android-Based Game

Background Cerebral vascular accidents (strokes) are the primary cause of disability worldwide and the second leading cause of death both in the Philippines and internationally. In recent years, a number of computer-based applications have been developed to assist in the stroke recovery process. Aim This article discusses an Android-based tablet game, FINDEX, that aids in the rehabilitation process of stroke survivors with impaired fine motor skills. Method FINDEX was designed and developed in the Philippines. The game contains assessment and monitoring support for tracking the patient’s progress in terms of fine finger dexterity, for example, finger control, isolation and coordination, and range of motions. The baselines for data comparison and analysis were gathered through an initial test with subjects with normal hand function. Three stroke survivors then participated in a pilot study, using the game for a total of nine testing sessions. Results Objective measures showed that patients’ dexterity did in fact improve, although it is not possible to draw strong conclusions because of the small sample size. In subsequent interviews, patients indicated that they believed that the games helped in their recovery and said that they preferred playing with the game over performing the standard therapeutic activities. Conclusion The development of this game and the preliminary findings from the pilot study suggest that games may indeed be effective instruments for therapy

An Overview of Self-Adaptive Technologies Within Virtual Reality Training

This overview presents the current state-of-the-art of self-adaptive technologies within virtual reality (VR) training. Virtual reality training and assessment is increasingly used for five key areas: medical, industrial & commercial training, serious games, rehabilitation and remote training such as Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs). Adaptation can be applied to five core technologies of VR including haptic devices, stereo graphics, adaptive content, assessment and autonomous agents. Automation of VR training can contribute to automation of actual procedures including remote and robotic assisted surgery which reduces injury and improves accuracy of the procedure. Automated haptic interaction can enable tele-presence and virtual artefact tactile interaction from either remote or simulated environments. Automation, machine learning and data driven features play an important role in providing trainee-specific individual adaptive training content. Data from trainee assessment can form an input to autonomous systems for customised training and automated difficulty levels to match individual requirements. Self-adaptive technology has been developed previously within individual technologies of VR training. One of the conclusions of this research is that while it does not exist, an enhanced portable framework is needed and it would be beneficial to combine automation of core technologies, producing a reusable automation framework for VR training

Circus in Motion: A Multimodal Exergame Supporting Vestibular Therapy for Children with Autism

Exergames are serious games that involve physical exertion and are thought of as a form of exercise by using novel input models. Exergames are promising in improving the vestibular differences of children with autism but often lack of adaptation mechanisms that adjust the difficulty level of the exergame. In this paper, we present the design and development of Circus in Motion, a multimodal exergame supporting children with autism with the practice of non-locomotor movements. We describe how the data from a 3D depth camera enables the tracking of non-locomotor movements allowing children to naturally interact with the exergame . A controlled experiment with 12 children with autism shows Circus in Motion excels traditional vestibular therapies in increasing physical activation and the number of movements repetitions. We show how data from real-time usage of Circus in Motion could be used to feed a fuzzy logic model that can adjust the difficulty level of the exergame according to each childs motor performance. We close discussing open challenges and opportunities of multimodal exergames to support motor therapeutic interventions for children with autism in the long-term

Hand Rehabilitation and Telemonitoring through Smart Toys

We describe here a platform for autonomous hand rehabilitation and telemonitoring of young patients. A toy embedding the electronics required to sense fingers pressure in different grasping modalities is the core element of this platform. The system has been realized following the user-centered design methodology taking into account stakeholder needs from start: clinicians require reliable measurements and the ability to get a picture remotely on rehabilitation progression; children have asked to interact with a pleasant and comfortable object that is easy to use, safe, and rewarding. These requirements are not antithetic, and considering both since the design phase has allowed the realization of a platform reliable to clinicians and keen to be used by young children

A Serious Games Development Environment

Un ambiente per lo sviluppo di Serious Game

Serious Games for Wrist Rehabilitation in Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis

Rehabilitation is a painful and tiring process involving series of exercises that patients must repeat over a long period. Unfortunately, patients often grow bored, frustrated, and lose motivation making rehabilitation less effective. In the recent years video games have been widely used to implement rehabilitation protocols so as to make the process more entertaining, engaging and to keep patients motivated. In this paper, we present an integrated framework we developed for the wrist rehabilitation of patients affected by Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) following a therapeutic protocol at the Clinica Pediatrica G. e D. De Marchi. The framework comprises four video games and a set modules that let the therapists tune and control the exercises the games implemented, record all the patients actions, replay and analyze the sessions. We present the result of a preliminary validation we performed with four poliarticular JIA patients at the clinic under the supervision of the therapists. Overall, we received good feedback both from the young patients, who enjoyed performing known rehabilitation exercises using video games, and therapists who were satisfied with the framework and its potentials for engaging and motivating the patients