Rapid Development Environments for Therapy Games: Looking Glass Therapy Games for Cerebral Palsy Treatment Utilizing the Kinect

Cerebral palsy is a group of neurological disorders that impair body movement, muscle coordination, hearing, vision, and cognitive function. Symptoms vary but can include muscle weakness, muscle and joint tightness, abnormal or unsteady gait, seizures, learning disabilities, speech problems, as well as hearing or vision problems [1]. Although cerebral palsy cannot be cured, treatments such as physical and occupational therapy can greatly help affected children develop motor skills needed to increase mobility and foster independence [2]. Computer based therapy games have shown promise in helping stroke survivors recover from stroke [3]. Initially, stroke therapy games developed in Looking Glass utilized Nintendo Wii remotes (informally known as Wiimotes) to sense user’s movements. Challenges unfolded with stroke patients who were unable to grasp Wiimotes, thereby limiting and inhibiting game development and the user experience [3]. In this paper, I describe my efforts to integrate the Microsoft Kinect with Looking Glass and build therapy games that utilize the Kinect to track user movements. I detail the Kinect integration and discuss its advantages of seated skeletal tracking with no hand held devices required by the user

Teaching Introductory Programming Concepts through a Gesture-Based Interface

Computer programming is an integral part of a technology driven society, so there is a tremendous need to teach programming to a wider audience. One of the challenges in meeting this demand for programmers is that most traditional computer programming classes are targeted to university/college students with strong math backgrounds. To expand the computer programming workforce, we need to encourage a wider range of students to learn about programming. The goal of this research is to design and implement a gesture-driven interface to teach computer programming to young and non-traditional students. We designed our user interface based on the feedback from students attending the College of Engineering summer camps at the University of Arkansas. Our system uses the Microsoft Xbox Kinect to capture the movements of new programmers as they use our system. Our software then tracks and interprets student hand movements in order to recognize specific gestures which correspond to different programming constructs, and uses this information to create and execute programs using the Google Blockly visual programming framework. We focus on various gesture recognition algorithms to interpret user data as specific gestures, including template matching, sector quantization, and supervised machine learning clustering algorithms

Media Data Processing

Tato práce popisuje proces tvorby multi-platformního interaktivního systému a demonstruje jeho použitelnost na prototypu aplikace simulující rehabilitaci. Je zde zahrnut SW návrh, 3D programování a produkce animací za použití hloubkového senzoru Kinect. Jádro aplikace bylo vytvořeno v herním enginu Unity 3D a bylo otestováno na Linux Ubuntu, Windows 7, mobilním zařízení Android a Unity Web Playeru. První polovina tohoto dokumentu obsahuje můj průzkum nejmodernějších nástrojů a zdrojů vhodných pro realizaci interaktivní multi-platformní aplikace, pracující s 3D obsahem. Nejprve jsou popsány tři herní enginy (Unity 3D, UDK, Unreal Engine 4), jakožto hlavní vývojová prostředí vhodná k realizaci aplikace. Poté jsou popsány možnosti ukládání dat obecné pro všechny zmíněné enginy - integrovaná úložiště dat, databázové systémy a serializace. Nakonec jsou v práci popsány výhody a nevýhody různých přístupů, jak vytvořit 3D animace. Je zde naznačeno použití 3D softwaru určeného k manuální produkci, ale také různé možnosti snímání pohybu Motion Capture. Druhá část dokumentu popisuje mé zhodnocení informací popsaných v předchozí části a rozhodnutí, které prostředky jsem použil k vytvoření prototypu. Také je zde zkonkretizováno zadání a formulovány základní parametry aplikace. Dále je popsán SW návrh, produkce a zpracování 3D animací a samotná implementace. Nakonec je výsledný prototyp zhodnocen a naznačena rozšíření, které je možné aplikovat v budoucnosti. Co se týče využití samotné aplikace, tato práce předvádí mé nápady, jak mohou být informační technologie využity v oboru fyzioterapie a zdravotnictví obecně. Výsledkem nemělo být nahrazení fyzioterapeutů, nýbrž poskytnutí pomoci jim a jejich pacientům. Tento prototyp je příkladem, který nabízí 3D vizualizaci cvičení a lidského pohybového systému. 3D animace, ukazující, jak by měl být každý cvik správně proveden, mimo jiné, mohou učinit rehabilitace příjemnější a zároveň účinnější.This work describes a process of creating a cross-platform interactive system and it demonstrates usability on prototype application that simulates a rehabilitation session. The application includes 3D visualization possibilities - interactive human muscular system and exercises with 3D animations. The work included SW design, 3D programming and production of animations using Kinect sensor. The core of this prototype was created in Unity 3D game engine. It was deployed and tested on Linux Ubuntu, Windows 7, Android mobile device and Unity Web Player. This work as well manifests my ideas how Information Technology can be used in field of physical therapy.

Innovative Technologies for Medical Education

This chapter aims to assess the current practices of anatomy education technology and provides future directions for medical education. It begins by presenting a historical synopsis of the current paradigms for anatomy learning followed by listing their limitations. Then, it focuses on several innovative educational technologies, which have been introduced over the past years to enhance the learning. These include E-learning, mobile apps, and mixed reality. The chapter concludes by highlighting future directions and addressing the barriers to fully integrating the technologies in the medical curriculum. As new technologies continue to arise, this process-oriented understanding and outcome-based expectations of educational technology should be embraced. With this view, educational technology should be valued in terms of how well the technological process informs and facilitates learning, and the acquisition and maintenance of clinical expertise

Assessing usability of full-body immersion in an interactive virtual reality environment

2020 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.Improving immersion and playability has a direct impact on the effectiveness of certain Virtual Reality applications. This project looks at understanding how to develop an immersive soccer application with the intention to measure skills, particularly for the use of assessment and health promotion. This project will show the requirements to create a top-down immersive experience with commodity devices. The particular system serves the simulation of a soccer training environment to evade opponents, pass to teammates, and score goals with the objective of measuring the difficulty of single, double, and triple tasks. It is expected that the performance will go down as the level of tasks increases. This hypothesis is extremely relevant as it provides a system that could serve as an assessment tool for people with concussions to return to play (with an OK by a physician) or to promote exercise to non-athletes. This thesis provides all the necessary steps to explain the high-level details of highly immersive applications while providing a future-path for human-subject experiments

The use os xbox kinect TM in the paediatric burns unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath academic hospital

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physiotherapy Johannesburg, 2017Background: Burns are a significant cause of paediatric injuries, particularly in low and middle-income countries, where more than 90% of burn-related paediatric deaths occur. Physiotherapy is an essential, sometimes painful, component of burn rehabilitation therapy. The popularity of the video game use in burns rehabilitation has grown because, in addition to facilitating range of motion (ROM) in an effort to prevent joint contracture formation, the virtual imaging characteristics of these games provides additional benefit of distraction from pain. Video games provide a more efficient, effective and enjoyable method training, and are a helpful adjunct to rehabilitation. Aim: To investigate the effect of using the Xbox Kinect™ on discharge outcomes and early activity levels of children in the Paediatric Burns Unit (PBU) at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) Methods: This non-equivalent post-test only control group design study took place over a period of time until the total number of children required was achieved for each group. The control group was the first group of children recruited to the study and received standard physiotherapy treatment and rehabilitation. The experimental group was the second group of children recruited to the study who received standard physiotherapy treatment and rehabilitation as well as the Xbox Kinect™. Comparisons were made only after the intervention and analysed. Outcome measures for each participant were ROM, Activities Scale for Kids© participation (ASK©p) and a modified Wong-Baker FACES® enjoyment rating scale. On discharge from the unit, ROM assessments and the modified Wong-Baker FACES® enjoyment rating scale were administered. On follow-up one week post discharge, ROM re-assessments were done and the ASK©p was administered. A questionnaire regarding the use of the Xbox Kinect™ was completed by health professionals working within the PBU. Results: Seventy children were recruited into the study of which the data for 66 were analysed. Thirty five children were part of the control group and 31 were part of the Xbox intervention group. No significant difference was found between groups regarding demographic characteristics, the median age was seven years old and 55% of the participants were male. There was one mortality and five children in total were lost to follow up. The majority burns were as a result of hot water attributing to more than 50% of admissions, followed by flame burns (30%) and electrical burns (12%). This study population showed an overall total burn surface area (TBSA) of nine percent which were superficial partial in depth; this is seen as a minor burn injury. Forty percent were seen to have moderate-severe injury and three children were considered to have severe major burns > 30 % TBSA. We observed a greater proportion of injury involving the lower limbs (23.10%) and upper limbs (21.10%), followed by injury involving the trunk (11.40%), buttocks and genitalia (7.50%) and the head and neck regions (6.80%). There was no difference in length of stay (LoS) or the chance of Intensive Care Unit (ICU) stay between the two groups. In the intervention group 75% of the children received 2 or more Xbox Kinect™ sessions. The Xbox Kinect™ was shown to be significant in achieving higher active range of movement (AROM) at discharge (p< 0.01) and at follow up (p< 0.01), and highlights the advantages it has in providing a more amusing and comfortable option as part of the burns rehabilitation process. By allowing the children to be more engaged in the Xbox Kinect™ experience and games, they were distracted and thus experienced less pain. In this study we found that TBSA% was a predictor of ASK©p scores (p= 0.03), thus the higher the burn percentage the lower the ASK©p scores. We also found that age (p= 0.05) and AROM (p= 0.04) were associated with ASK©p scores, thus the younger the child or a child with reduced AROM would have lower ASK©p scores. Fun and enjoyment (p<0.01) was found to be significant in this study, thus highlighting the fun and enjoyment factor the Xbox Kinect™ offers as part of therapy and as an adjunct to burns rehabilitation. Thirty one questionnaires regarding the value and use of the Xbox Kinect™ were completed by health professionals working within the PBU. Many highlighted the value of fun, enjoyment and distraction the Xbox Kinect™ offered as part of the rehabilitation, as well as assisting in achieving more AROM but also indicated that the Xbox Kinect™ sessions still needed to be supervised and guided. Conclusion: This study was the first study done in South Africa involving video game technology during physiotherapy within the paediatric burns population. The use of the Xbox Kinect™ as seen in this study has proven to be beneficial and a useful adjunct to burns rehabilitation within in the paediatric burns population. This distraction and decline in pain assists in reducing the fear associated with movement these burns children experience and assist in improvements related to activity and ultimately age-appropriate play and activities of daily living (ADLs).MT201

SELF-IMAGE MULTIMEDIA TECHNOLOGIES FOR FEEDFORWARD OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING

This dissertation investigates the development and use of self-images in augmented reality systems for learning and learning-based activities. This work focuses on self- modeling, a particular form of learning, actively employed in various settings for therapy or teaching. In particular, this work aims to develop novel multimedia systems to support the display and rendering of augmented self-images. It aims to use interactivity (via games) as a means of obtaining imagery for use in creating augmented self-images. Two multimedia systems are developed, discussed and analyzed. The proposed systems are validated in terms of their technical innovation and their clinical efficacy in delivering behavioral interventions for young children on the autism spectrum

Enhancing Motivation in Physiotherapy for People with Parkinson’s Disease: An Exploration of Serious Games and Virtual Reality

Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. There is currently no cure for PD, although it is possible to slow down its progression and control its symptoms with medication, surgery and physiotherapy. Physical exercise is an essential component of the treatment, helping patients to stay active, maintain physical performance and stimulate cognitive function. One of the main problems is that patients are more vulnerable to apathy and lack of motivation, which affects their willingness to follow an exercises plan and maintain their quality of life. Therefore, the necessity to develop an effective tool that persuades and actively engages patients becomes evident. Persuasive Technology is defined as any interactive computing system designed to change a person’s attitudes or behaviors. Gamification has demonstrated successful results in healthcare by increasing physical activity levels. Moreover, treatment can take advantage of Serious Games by combining the physical exercise component with cognitive function stimulation. If well aligned with therapy these can be used as Persuasive Technology. Therefore, this dissertation aimed to tackle this challenge by studying a motivational approach to persuade People with PD to practice even more therapy exercises. The proposed solution is based on the exploration of Serious Games and Virtual Reality (VR), mainly to study and discover the best natural user interfaces that could be used. A collection of Serious Games was implemented under a preliminary study to determine which devices were more suited to use in the implementation of the motivational strategy. Afterwards, the solution was based on the development of two VR-based Serious Games, one using Kinect V2 and the other fully immersive with Oculus Quest 2. A human factors study was then designed, showing very positive results in the first evaluation phase before moving on to the final assessment with patients. The research produced conclusions about the devices to use, but also about the design process of these solutions, from non to fully immersive VR.A Doença de Parkinson é uma doença degenerativa do sistema nervoso central que afecta principalmente o sistema motor. Actualmente, não existe cura para a doença, embora seja possível abrandar a sua progressão e controlar os seus sintomas com medicação, cirurgia e fisioterapia. O exercício físico é um componente essencial do tratamento, que ajuda os doentes a manterem-se ativos, a manter o desempenho físico e a estimular a função cognitiva. Um dos principais problemas é que os doentes são mais vulneráveis à apatia e à falta de motivação, o que afeta a sua vontade de seguir um plano de exercícios e de manter a sua qualidade de vida. Por conseguinte, torna-se evidente a necessidade de desenvolver uma ferramenta eficaz que persuada e envolva ativamente os doentes. A Tecnologia Persuasiva é definida como qualquer sistema informático interativo concebido para alterar as atitudes ou os comportamentos de uma pessoa. A Gamificação demonstrou resultados de sucesso nos cuidados de saúde, aumentando os níveis de atividade física. Além disso, o tratamento pode tirar partido de Jogos Sérios, combinando a componente de exercício físico com a estimulação da função cognitiva. Se bem alinhados com a terapia, podem ser usados como Tecnologia Persuasiva. Assim, esta dissertação teve como objetivo enfrentar este desafio, estudando uma abordagem motivacional para persuadir as pessoas com a Doença de Parkinson a praticar ainda mais exercícios terapêuticos. A solução proposta baseia-se na exploração de Jogos Sérios e Realidade Virtual, principalmente para estudar e desenvolver as melhores interfaces de utilizador naturais que podem ser utilizadas. Foi implementada uma coleção de Jogos Sérios num estudo preliminar para determinar quais os dispositivos mais adequados para utilizar na implementação da estratégia motivacional. Posteriormente, a solução baseou-se no desenvolvimento de dois Jogos Sérios baseados em Realidade Virtual, um utilizando o Kinect V2 e o outro totalmente imersivo com o Oculus Quest 2. Foi então concebido um estudo de fatores humanos, com resultados muito positivos na primeira fase de avaliação, antes de passar à avaliação final com os pacientes. A investigação produziu conclusões sobre os dispositivos a utilizar, mas também sobre o processo de conceção destas soluções, desde a Realidade Virtual não imersiva até à totalmente imersiva