Recommendations for the use of serious games in neurodegenerative disorders: 2016 Delphi Panel

The use of Serious Games (SG) in the health domain is expanding. In the field of neurodegenerative disorders (ND) such as Alzheimer's disease, SG are currently employed both to support and improve the assessment of different functional and cognitive abilities, and to provide alternative solutions for patients' treatment, stimulation, and rehabilitation. As the field is quite young, recommendations on the use of SG in people with ND are still rare. In 2014 we proposed some initial recommendations (Robert et al., 2014). The aim of the present work was to update them, thanks to opinions gathered by experts in the field during an expert Delphi panel. Results confirmed that SG are adapted to elderly people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia, and can be employed for several purposes, including assessment, stimulation, and improving wellbeing, with some differences depending on the population (e.g., physical stimulation may be better suited for people with MCI). SG are more adapted for use with trained caregivers (both at home and in clinical settings), with a frequency ranging from 2 to 4 times a week. Importantly, the target of SG, their frequency of use and the context in which they are played depend on the SG typology (e.g., Exergame, cognitive game), and should be personalized with the help of a clinician. © 2017 Manera, Ben-Sadoun, Aalbers, Agopyan, Askenazy, Benoit, Bensamoun, Bourgeois, Bredin, Bremond, Crispim-Junior, David, De Schutter, Ettore, Fairchild, Foulon, Gazzaley, Gros, Hun, Knoefel, Olde Rikkert, Phan Tran, Politis, Rigaud, Sacco, Serret, Thümmler, Welter and Robert

Human-computer interaction approaches for the assessment and the practice of the cognitive capabilities of elderly people

The cognitive assessment of elderly people is usually performed by means of paper-pencil tests, which may not provide an exhaustive evaluation of the cognitive abilities of the subject. Here, we analyze two solutions based on interaction in virtual environments. In particular, we consider a non-immersive exergame based on a standard tablet, and an immersive VR environment based on a head-mounted display. We show the potential use of such tools, by comparing a set of computed metrics with the results of standard clinical tests, and we discuss the potential use of such tools to perform more complex evaluations. In particular, the use of immersive environments, which could be implemented both with head-mounted displays or with configurations of stereoscopic displays, allows us to track the patients\u2019 pose, and to analyze his/her movements and posture, when performing Activities of Daily Living, with the aim of having a further way to assess cognitive capabilities

Gående och cyklister i små orter : resultat av litteraturstudie

De framträdande riktningarna som kan spåras från genomgången av litteraturstudien visar att kunskapen gällande tekniska lösningar samt förståelsen för problemet med oskyddade trafikanterna i den aktuella miljön är relativt stor. En tendens som går att urskilja är att studierna ofta behandlar frågorna var för sig och främst fokuserar på planering, säkerhet och trygghet och inte så mycket på framkomlighet.Det som, utifrån resultaten i databassökningen, saknas är en bredd av studier avseende oskyddade trafikanters möjlighet att färdas med samma typ av transportkvalitet som övriga trafikantgrupper och framför allt på landsbygden eller i små orter. Studier som tar ett helhetsgrepp om de oskyddades situation i den aktuella miljön bör därför ses som önskvärda. Den svenska utformningspricipen för landsbygd utgår från människors resande med bil vilket yttrar sig i detaljerade anvisningar för utformning för fordonstrafik, det finns dock begränsade anvisningar som i samma omfattning tar hänsyn till de oskyddade trafikanternas anspråk.I rapporten redovisas den funna sakkunskapen i befintlig litteratur med uppdelning i olika miljöer och angreppssätt.Godkänd; 2012; 20120330 (petros