Wearable Haptic Devices for Gait Re-education by Rhythmic Haptic Cueing

This research explores the development and evaluation of wearable haptic devices for gait sensing and rhythmic haptic cueing in the context of gait re-education for people with neurological and neurodegenerative conditions. Many people with long-term neurological and neurodegenerative conditions such as Stroke, Brain Injury, Multiple Sclerosis or Parkinson’s disease suffer from impaired walking gait pattern. Gait improvement can lead to better fluidity in walking, improved health outcomes, greater independence, and enhanced quality of life. Existing lab-based studies with wearable devices have shown that rhythmic haptic cueing can cause immediate improvements to gait features such as temporal symmetry, stride length, and walking speed. However, current wearable systems are unsuitable for self-managed use for in-the-wild applications with people having such conditions. This work aims to investigate the research question of how wearable haptic devices can help in long-term gait re-education using rhythmic haptic cueing. A longitudinal pilot study has been conducted with a brain trauma survivor, providing rhythmic haptic cueing using a wearable haptic device as a therapeutic intervention for a two-week period. Preliminary results comparing pre and post-intervention gait measurements have shown improvements in walking speed, temporal asymmetry, and stride length. The pilot study has raised an array of issues that require further study. This work aims to develop and evaluate prototype systems through an iterative design process to make possible the self-managed use of such devices in-the-wild. These systems will directly provide therapeutic intervention for gait re-education, offer enhanced information for therapists, remotely monitor dosage adherence and inform treatment and prognoses over the long-term. This research will evaluate the use of technology from the perspective of multiple stakeholders, including clinicians, carers and patients. This work has the potential to impact clinical practice nationwide and worldwide in neuro-physiotherapy

Conception participative et évaluation d'un serious game pour les enfants asthmatiques

International audienceThe study described in this paper highlighted the participatory design process (PD) in the context of asthma e-learning. First, we described global process to design this tool named KidBreath. Second, we evaluated in two Year 4 classes its efficacy in a motivation way, usability, disease knowledge and interests of children by their system. Results showed, in acceptance with behaviors, high level of intrinsic motivation when using KidBreath, usability and enjoyment of edutainment activities. This pilot study tends to confirm to continue with this approach with asthma kids at home.L'étude décrite dans cet article met en exergue l'intérêt d'une approche de conception participative (CP) dans le cadre d'un apprentissage en ligne sur l'asthme pour les enfants. Après avoir décrit l'ensemble de la démarche pour la conception de cet e-learning nommé KidBreath, nous évaluons dans 2 classes de CE2 son efficacité au niveau motivationnel, utilisabilité, connaissance sur la maladie et émergence de l'intérêt que les enfants y portent à travers la curiosité qui en émerge. Les résultats, probants aux comportements observés, montrent un haut niveau de motivation intrinsèque pour utiliser l'outil, un fort taux d'utilisabilité et une grande satisfaction des activités ludo-éducatives. Cette étude pilote nous confirme de continuer dans cette approche en testant le système notamment auprès des enfants asthmatiques sur du moyen terme

VideoProbe: Sharing Pictures of Everyday Life

VideoProbe is an example of a technology probe, which combines the goals of gathering data about daily family life, inspiring ideas for new communication technologies and testing them in real-world settings. Family members living in remote households can share pictures and personal information with each other via a closed, secure network. This paper reports our experiences installing videoProbes in two multi-household families as part of a longitudinal participatory design project. The project not only provided an intimate view of the families and the requirements for a real-world system, but also led us to a new concept of networked communication appliances

Textlets: Supporting Constraints and Consistency in Text Documents

International audienceWriting technical documents frequently requires following constraints and consistently using domain-specific terms. We interviewed 12 legal professionals and found that they all use a standard word processor, but must rely on their memory to manage dependencies and maintain consistent vocabulary within their documents. We introduce Textlets, interactive objects that reify text selections into persistent items. We show how Textlets help manage consistency and constraints within the document, including selective search and replace, word count, and alternative wording. Eight participants tested a search-and-replace Textlet as a technology probe. All successfully interacted directly with the Textlet to perform advanced tasks; and most (6/8) spontaneously generated a novel replace-all-then-correct strategy. Participants suggested additional ideas, such as supporting collaborative editing over time by embedding a Textlet into the document to flag forbidden words. We argue that Textlets serve as a generative concept for creating powerful new tools for document editing