5,749 research outputs found

    Play&Tune: user-feedback in the development of a serious game for optimising hearing aid orientation

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    Many hearing aid (HA) users are dissatisfied with HA performance in social situations. One way to improve HA outcomes is training users to understand how HAs work. Play&Tune was designed to provide this training, and to foster autonomy in hearing rehabilitation. We carried out two prototype evaluations and a pre-release evaluation of Play&Tune with 71 HA users, using an interview or online survey. Users gave detailed feedback on their experiences with the app. Most participants enjoyed learning about HAs and expressed a desire for autonomy over their HA settings. Our case study reinforces the importance of user-feedback during app development

    Playful online learning environments promote student teachers’ renegotiation of their learner role

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    Smartphone serious games for senses evaluation

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    This thesis attempts to evaluate the possibility of creating a smartphone-based system that will allow any person with access to such device to get an evaluation of his vision or audition performance. The objective is not to replace clinical visits, but to allow the user to continuously monitor his performance, hoping that, with high frequency testing, the user will be able to detect a possible problem sooner rather than later and that precautions can be taken as soon as possible. The tests developed will be given a serious game setting,, in an attempt to increase the testing frequency by providing the user with a more appealing testing experience.Falls are the second leading cause of accidental injury deaths worldwide. Each year, many older people fall and this frequently leads to injury, suffering, fear, loss of independence and reduced quality of life. Falls are often caused by a number of factors, and interventions such as physical therapy, adjusting medications or behavior change can reduce the elderly fall rate. Determination of fall risks is therefore needed in order to identify who may benefit from interventions. Specific tests and questionnaires are used periodically to assess fall risks at clinics. However, changes in fall risk may occur suddenly or gradually and clinic visits may not occur frequently enough to detect more sudden changes. The purpose of this research is to allow the user to perform some of the tests by himself at home, so that the tests can become more regular and therefore more responsive to sudden changes. The aim of this project would not be to replace clinic visits, but offer the user the means to continue the tracking of his fall risk from home, so that if dangerous readings are detected the user can be immediately directed to the clinic. In this project, the fall risk factors targeted are the visual function and the hearing loss. By creating an android application capable of evaluating the visual and hearing capabilities of the user it is possible to track the continuous evolution of the readings, easily detecting any anomalies. This project also aims to provide this evaluation through serious gaming, so that this task can be as pleasant as possible and therefore get the user to perform the evaluation more frequently

    How a Diverse Research Ecosystem Has Generated New Rehabilitation Technologies: Review of NIDILRR’s Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers

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    Over 50 million United States citizens (1 in 6 people in the US) have a developmental, acquired, or degenerative disability. The average US citizen can expect to live 20% of his or her life with a disability. Rehabilitation technologies play a major role in improving the quality of life for people with a disability, yet widespread and highly challenging needs remain. Within the US, a major effort aimed at the creation and evaluation of rehabilitation technology has been the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Centers (RERCs) sponsored by the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. As envisioned at their conception by a panel of the National Academy of Science in 1970, these centers were intended to take a “total approach to rehabilitation”, combining medicine, engineering, and related science, to improve the quality of life of individuals with a disability. Here, we review the scope, achievements, and ongoing projects of an unbiased sample of 19 currently active or recently terminated RERCs. Specifically, for each center, we briefly explain the needs it targets, summarize key historical advances, identify emerging innovations, and consider future directions. Our assessment from this review is that the RERC program indeed involves a multidisciplinary approach, with 36 professional fields involved, although 70% of research and development staff are in engineering fields, 23% in clinical fields, and only 7% in basic science fields; significantly, 11% of the professional staff have a disability related to their research. We observe that the RERC program has substantially diversified the scope of its work since the 1970’s, addressing more types of disabilities using more technologies, and, in particular, often now focusing on information technologies. RERC work also now often views users as integrated into an interdependent society through technologies that both people with and without disabilities co-use (such as the internet, wireless communication, and architecture). In addition, RERC research has evolved to view users as able at improving outcomes through learning, exercise, and plasticity (rather than being static), which can be optimally timed. We provide examples of rehabilitation technology innovation produced by the RERCs that illustrate this increasingly diversifying scope and evolving perspective. We conclude by discussing growth opportunities and possible future directions of the RERC program

    v. 80, issue 3, October 5, 2012

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    How can the technology be integrated in Outdoor Movement Education for children and the youth with special needs?

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    The technological innovations of the last decade have caused countless changes to everyone's lifestyle, especially in the number of hours spent in front of a screen. These generational differences are even more marked if the new generations of students are taken into consideration, in fact, even at the school level, technological innovations have brought changes. Just as lifestyle and teaching have changed, what is considered as the "needs" of pupils and how they live and relate both in formal and informal environments have also changed. Considering the emergency period caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, greater attention has been paid to the importance of exercising and everyone has also re-evaluated the beauty and benefits of exercising outdoors. Outdoor Movement Education in this sense can be a key that allows the new generations to experience the emotions and sensations that can be felt during outdoor moving activities. This work is a reflection on how technology can be a tool to increase the benefits in Outdoor Movement Education considering children and youth with special needs. The results of this work have shown how the use of technology in Outdoor Movement Education brings numerous advantages both under the didactic profile (i.e., life skills) and with regard to the cognitive (i.e., attention and concentration), motor (i.e., motor skills, fundamental movement skills) and affective (i.e., enjoyment) domains of learning respectively

    Virtual reality and behaviour management in paediatric dentistry: a systematic review

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    Background: Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as an innovative tool in medicine and dentistry, improving anxiety and pain management in children. The immersive and interactive environments of VR technology facilitate positive engagement of young patients during dental procedures via distraction, potentially reducing anxiety levels and improving treatment experience. The aim of this review was to provide current evidence-based guidance on the usage of VR in the clinical practice of paediatric dentistry. Methods: A systematic review was conducted according to the PRISMA guidelines with the following research question using the PICO format: Does VR (I) effectively manage anxiety and pain (O) during a paediatric dental consultation (P) compared to alternative behavioural control techniques (C)? PubMed/Medline®, SCOPUS and Web of Science databases were searched and analysed. Results: A total of 22 randomised control trials were included in this review. These studies have shown that VR is a highly effective method of behaviour management, successfully alleviating pain and anxiety in children during dental treatment, surpassing traditional tools. Selected studies included participants with a large age range and dental procedures varied greatly, from first consultations to infiltration of local anaesthetic and other invasive procedures. VR was mostly used during treatment delivery and different immersive VR techniques were considered. Behaviour, anxiety and pain scales were used to determine efficacy and patient satisfaction. Conclusions: VR offers an engaging and immersive experience, effectively diverting patients' attention away from the clinical environment, fostering a positive and enjoyable treatment experience. However, it is important to acknowledge the limitations of existing studies and the need for further research to enhance the understanding of VR's full potential in paediatric dentistry.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio
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