A Virtual Agent for enhancing performance and engagement of older people with dementia in Serious Games

International audienceOlder people with dementia have many difficulties while using Serious Game for their cognitive training. Besides of the lack of game culture and a limited acceptance toward new technology, memory and cognitive disorders influence negatively also on their performance. We propose a virtual agent that can enhance performance of player using engaging strategies. We assess the efficiency of the agent compared with a therapist through an experiment with 47 older adults distributed in two groups (Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer). The experimental results report that the agent can help participants producing similar performances (score, precision, learning effect) than in the case with therapist. Moreover, participants have appreciated the agent and desired to continue playing temporarily with the agent instead of the therapist

Assistance for Older Adults in Serious Game using an Interactive System

International audienceSerious Games offer a new way to older adults to improve various abilities such as the vision, the balance or the memory. However, cognitive impairment causes a lot of difficulties to them when actively practicing these games. Their engagement and motivation are reduced rapidly when encountering successive problems without any help. In this paper, we present an approach to assist older adults in Serious Game using an interactive system. Three groups of players with different cognitive impairments (Mnesic Plaint, MCI and Alzheimer) have been tested with the system in a concentration-based game. As the experimental results, the players performed a high performance when playing with the assistance of the system, especially among Alzheimer group. The future work aims to perform this approach with a larger population and explore other factors which can influence on the players' motivation

Comment intéresser les personnes âgées aux Serious Game ?

International audienceLes Serious Game (SG) figurent, à ce jour, parmi les mesures non médicamenteuses au bénéfice des personnes âgées, permettant de préserver une bonne santé dans des conditions ludiques, en effectuant des entraînements physiques et cognitifs. Néanmoins, la question de la motivation de cesutilisateurs particuliers reste encore à étudier. En effet, la plupart d’entre eux ne disposent pas préalablement d’une culture du jeu vidéo, ni d’une maîtrise des technologies récentes (par ex: caméra, ordinateur, etc …). Nous proposons dans cet article un système capable d’initier les personnes âgées aux SG. Composé d’un module de reconnaissance d’événements et d’une interface communicative avec un personnage virtuel animé, le système accompagne l'utilisateur dans son expérience de jeu. 19 participants, recrutés lors de leur consultation mémoire, ont testé le fonctionnement de ce système. Seules 3 personnes, ayant une mobilité réduite, pour l’une, ou des troubles de la compréhension, pour les 2 autres, n’ont pas réussi à interagir avec le système. Nous proposerons une amélioration afin d’apporter des aides supplémentaires lorsque l’utilisateur se perd en cours de jeu

Recommendations for the Use of Serious Games in Neurodegenerative Disorders: 2016 Delphi Panel

International audienceThe 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

Awareness and preparedness of healthcare workers against the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey across 57 countries.

BACKGROUND: Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, there have been concerns related to the preparedness of healthcare workers (HCWs). This study aimed to describe the level of awareness and preparedness of hospital HCWs at the time of the first wave. METHODS: This multinational, multicenter, cross-sectional survey was conducted among hospital HCWs from February to May 2020. We used a hierarchical logistic regression multivariate analysis to adjust the influence of variables based on awareness and preparedness. We then used association rule mining to identify relationships between HCW confidence in handling suspected COVID-19 patients and prior COVID-19 case-management training. RESULTS: We surveyed 24,653 HCWs from 371 hospitals across 57 countries and received 17,302 responses from 70.2% HCWs overall. The median COVID-19 preparedness score was 11.0 (interquartile range [IQR] = 6.0-14.0) and the median awareness score was 29.6 (IQR = 26.6-32.6). HCWs at COVID-19 designated facilities with previous outbreak experience, or HCWs who were trained for dealing with the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, had significantly higher levels of preparedness and awareness (p<0.001). Association rule mining suggests that nurses and doctors who had a 'great-extent-of-confidence' in handling suspected COVID-19 patients had participated in COVID-19 training courses. Male participants (mean difference = 0.34; 95% CI = 0.22, 0.46; p<0.001) and nurses (mean difference = 0.67; 95% CI = 0.53, 0.81; p<0.001) had higher preparedness scores compared to women participants and doctors. INTERPRETATION: There was an unsurprising high level of awareness and preparedness among HCWs who participated in COVID-19 training courses. However, disparity existed along the lines of gender and type of HCW. It is unknown whether the difference in COVID-19 preparedness that we detected early in the pandemic may have translated into disproportionate SARS-CoV-2 burden of disease by gender or HCW type

Associations of Underlying Health Conditions With Anxiety and Depression Among Outpatients: Modification Effects of Suspected COVID-19 Symptoms, Health-Related and Preventive Behaviors

Objectives: We explored the association of underlying health conditions (UHC) with depression and anxiety, and examined the modification effects of suspected COVID-19 symptoms (S-COVID-19-S), health-related behaviors (HB), and preventive behaviors (PB).Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 8,291 outpatients aged 18–85 years, in 18 hospitals and health centers across Vietnam from 14th February to May 31, 2020. We collected the data regarding participant's characteristics, UHC, HB, PB, depression, and anxiety.Results: People with UHC had higher odds of depression (OR = 2.11; p &lt; 0.001) and anxiety (OR = 2.86; p &lt; 0.001) than those without UHC. The odds of depression and anxiety were significantly higher for those with UHC and S-COVID-19-S (p &lt; 0.001); and were significantly lower for those had UHC and interacted with “unchanged/more” physical activity (p &lt; 0.001), or “unchanged/more” drinking (p &lt; 0.001 for only anxiety), or “unchanged/healthier” eating (p &lt; 0.001), and high PB score (p &lt; 0.001), as compared to those without UHC and without S-COVID-19-S, “never/stopped/less” physical activity, drinking, “less healthy” eating, and low PB score, respectively.Conclusion: S-COVID-19-S worsen psychological health in patients with UHC. Physical activity, drinking, healthier eating, and high PB score were protective factors

Maintaining the engagement of older adults with dementia while interacting with serious game

Le nombre croissant de cas de démence chez les personnes âgées attire l’attention de nombreux chercheurs de différentes disciplines. Diverses solutions non médicamenteuses ont été proposées dans lesquelles la stimulation cognitive prend place parmi les choix possibles. D’ailleurs, les jeux vidéo ont été impliqués dans de nombreux projets de santé comme soutien privilégié pour étendre et résoudre les limites des traitements non médicamenteux. Cependant, l’utilisation du jeu vidéo pour les personnes âgées avec la démence pendant une longue période est considérée comme une activité difficile. Ils n’ont pas les mêmes expériences de jeu que la jeune génération et ne peuvent pas utiliser activement et indépendamment cet outil en raison des troubles cognitifs et de la mémoire causés par la maladie. Dans cette thèse, une approche est proposée avec le but de maintenir l’engagement des personnes âgées avec la démence en interagissant avec les jeux vidéo. Cette approche vise à fournir dynamiquement les interactions appropriées aux utilisateurs en fonction de la situation courante définie par leurs activités physiques et leurs activités de jeu. Un système de support est développé pour valider l’approche à travers 3 expériences réalisées avec des participants recrutés via le centre de mémoire. Les résultats montrent que: 1) les personnes âgées atteintes de démence peuvent interagir successivement avec le système proposé 2) leur performance du jeu est maintenue, 3) l’efficacité du système de support est similaire à celle d’un thérapeute. Les futurs travaux visent à tester le système de support à domicile pendant de longues périodes avec des personnes âgées souffrant démence.Recently, the world witnesses an increasing number of the dementia cases in the older population, which causes an important impact in the society. This phenomenon attracts the attention of many researchers in multi-disciplines. Various socio-medical non-drug solutions have been proposed in which cognitive stimulation takes a place among the possible choices. In parallel, video games have been involved in many healthcare projects as privileged support for both extending and solving the limits of non-drug treatments. However, using video game for older adults with dementia in long period of time is considered as a difficult activity. They do not have the same gaming experiences as the young generation and cannot use actively and independently this tool because of memory and cognitive troubles caused by the disease. In this thesis, an approach with the purpose of maintaining the engagement of older adults with dementia while playing video game is proposed. This approach aims to provide dynamically the appropriate interactions to the users based on the current situation encompassing their physical activities and game activities. A support system is developed for validating the approach throughout 3 experiments with participants recruited from the memory center. The results show that : 1) older adults with dementia can interact successfully with the support system, 2) their game performance (playing time, accuracy rate, learning effect) is maintained, 3) the effectiveness of the support system is similar to the one of a therapist. Future work aims at testing the support system at home for long periods of time with older adults with dementia

Maintien de l’engagement dans les jeux sérieux de personnes âgées souffrant de démence

Recently, the world witnesses an increasing number of the dementia cases in the older population, which causes an important impact in the society. This phenomenon attracts the attention of many researchers in multi-disciplines. Various socio-medical non-drug solutions have been proposed in which cognitive stimulation takes a place among the possible choices. In parallel, video games have been involved in many healthcare projects as privileged support for both extending and solving the limits of non-drug treatments. However, using video game for older adults with dementia in long period of time is considered as a difficult activity. They do not have the same gaming experiences as the young generation and cannot use actively and independently this tool because of memory and cognitive troubles caused by the disease. In this thesis, an approach with the purpose of maintaining the engagement of older adults with dementia while playing video game is proposed. This approach aims to provide dynamically the appropriate interactions to the users based on the current situation encompassing their physical activities and game activities. A support system is developed for validating the approach throughout 3 experiments with participants recruited from the memory center. The results show that : 1) older adults with dementia can interact successfully with the support system, 2) their game performance (playing time, accuracy rate, learning effect) is maintained, 3) the effectiveness of the support system is similar to the one of a therapist. Future work aims at testing the support system at home for long periods of time with older adults with dementia.Le nombre croissant de cas de démence chez les personnes âgées attire l’attention de nombreux chercheurs de différentes disciplines. Diverses solutions non médicamenteuses ont été proposées dans lesquelles la stimulation cognitive prend place parmi les choix possibles. D’ailleurs, les jeux vidéo ont été impliqués dans de nombreux projets de santé comme soutien privilégié pour étendre et résoudre les limites des traitements non médicamenteux. Cependant, l’utilisation du jeu vidéo pour les personnes âgées avec la démence pendant une longue période est considérée comme une activité difficile. Ils n’ont pas les mêmes expériences de jeu que la jeune génération et ne peuvent pas utiliser activement et indépendamment cet outil en raison des troubles cognitifs et de la mémoire causés par la maladie. Dans cette thèse, une approche est proposée avec le but de maintenir l’engagement des personnes âgées avec la démence en interagissant avec les jeux vidéo. Cette approche vise à fournir dynamiquement les interactions appropriées aux utilisateurs en fonction de la situation courante définie par leurs activités physiques et leurs activités de jeu. Un système de support est développé pour valider l’approche à travers 3 expériences réalisées avec des participants recrutés via le centre de mémoire. Les résultats montrent que: 1) les personnes âgées atteintes de démence peuvent interagir successivement avec le système proposé 2) leur performance du jeu est maintenue, 3) l’efficacité du système de support est similaire à celle d’un thérapeute. Les futurs travaux visent à tester le système de support à domicile pendant de longues périodes avec des personnes âgées souffrant démence

How to interest Seniors with Serious Games ?

International audience— Serious Game is considered currently as a new non-medicated measure to the advantage of seniors, allowing to maintain good health in the playful conditions by doing cognitive and physical exercises. However, user's motivation is still a problem that needs to be studied more precisely. Indeed, most of them previously have neither game culture nor knowledge of new technologies (camera, computer). We propose in this paper a system which is able to initiate older people into Serious Games. Consisted of a recognition module and of a communicative interface with an animated avatar, the système accompanies the player in his game experience. 19 participants are recruited during their memory consultation and are tested the functioning of this system. Only 3, having an impaired mobility for the one and the disorders of understanding for 2 others, did not manage to interact with the system. We propose an improvement to bring more advice when the player faces difficulties in the course of the game session