An assistive tabletop keyboard for stroke rehabilitation

We propose a tabletop keyboard that assists stroke patients in using computers. Using computers for purposes such as paying bills, managing bank accounts, sending emails, etc., which all include typing, is part of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) that stroke patients wish to recover. To date, stroke rehabilitation research has greatly focused on using computer-assisted technology for rehabilitation. However, working with computers as a skill that patients need to recover has been neglected. The conventional human computer interfaces are mouse and keyboard. Using keyboard stays the main challenge for hemiplegic stroke patients because typing is usually a bimanual task. Therefore, we propose an assistive tabletop keyboard which is not only a novel computer interface that is specially designed to facilitate patient-computer interaction but also a rehab medium through which patients practice the desired arm/hand functions. © 2013 Authors

From body tracking interaction in floor projection displays to elderly cardiorespiratory training through exergaming

The opportunity to develop new natural user interfaces has come forward due to the recent development of inexpensive full body tracking sensors, which has made this technology accessible to millions of users. In this paper, we present a comparative study between two natural user interfaces, and a cardiorespiratory training exergame developed based on the study results. The focus was on studying interfaces that could easily be used by an elderly population for interaction with floor projection displays. One interface uses both feet position to control a cursor and feet distance to trigger activation. In the alternative interface, the cursor is controlled by forearm ray casting into the projection floor and interaction is activated by hand pose. These modes of interaction were tested with 19 elderly participants in a point-and-click and a drag-and-drop task using a between-subjects experimental design. The usability, perceived workload and performance indicators were measured for each interface. Results show a clear preference towards the feet-controlled interface and a marginally better performance for this method. The results from the study served as a guide to the design of a cardiorespiratory fitness exergame for the elderly. The game “Grape Stomping” uses ground projection and mapping to display real-size winery elements. These virtual elements are used to simulate, in a playful way, the process of grape maceration through repeated stomping. A playtest session with nine elderly users was completed and its insights are presented in addition to the description of the game.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Kinecting frailty : a pilot study on frailty

Most elderly people wish to live independently at home, but are at risk of social isolation, inactivity, low mood, falls and increased frailty. To keep them safe at home without unnecessary, expensive hospitalisations we will investigate a new eHealth application using the Microsoft Kinect. This pilot study evaluates user engagement with Kinect when used for remote monitoring in the homes of frail adults and to provisionally validate the system’s ability to detect key “indicators” of health events and states in a home setting. 12 older people in homes for the elderly in Salford, UK will be observed with MS Kinect. User engagement will be assessed via interviews. Health events/states identified by the Kinect will be compared to researcher assessments and user reports