Keep on Moving Designing Physiotherapeutic Exergames for Different Devices and Exercises (original) (raw)
Entertainment Computing, 2015
We present here a comprehensive definition of therapeutic exergames from which a methodology to create safe exergames for real therapy pathways is derived. Three main steps are identified. (I) A clear identification of all the exercise requirements, not only in terms of goals of the therapy, but also in terms of additional constraints. Characteristic parameters for determining the challenge level and to assess progression are also defined in this phase. (II) The exercise is transformed into a Virtual Exercise, in which all the exercise elements are implemented inside a simple virtual environment. In this step the discussion between clinical and ICT teams allows maximizing the effectiveness of exergames implementation. (III) The final exergame is realized by introducing on top of the exercise all the game elements suggested by good game design to maximize entertainment. A clear line between exercises and games is drawn here. We illustrate the methodology with exergames designed for (1) balance and posture and (2) neglect rehabilitation, implemented and tested with post-stroke patients training autonomously at home. The methodology can have a broader impact as it can be applied also in other gaming fields in which the requirements go beyond entertainment.
A Comparison of Exergaming Interfaces for Use in Rehabilitation Programs and Research
Exergames or active video games are video games with interfaces that require active involvement and the exertion of physical force by participants. These exergames are designed to track body motion and provide both fun and exercise for game players. Numerous video game console companies have designed exergaming interfaces that are becoming very popular. This paper examines the nature of the interfaces and explores the possibility of using these interfaces for rehabilitation programs and research. While many systems exist, this paper will focus on three major players: Sony PlayStation Move, Nintendo Wii, and Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect. Comparisons include the technical specifications, the motion sensed by each interface, and the motion required in each therapeutic activity type. Discussion addresses the research implications of using these tools.
Creation of Physiatric Exercises for Remote Use in Rehabilitation Exergames
2018
The current demographic ageing in Europe is the result of a relevant economic, social, and medical development. Nevertheless, at the same time, it is also leading to a significant increase in the demand for long-term care (LTC), especially for seniors. One viable way to offer qualified cares at home, while at the same time containing costs, is to exploit digital technologies as enablers of a constant interaction between seniors and assisting personnel. In particular, (video) games have already been identified as a viable way to foster motivation and engagement in the long term. While technical solutions to provide at home LTC has already been proposed, the scientific community is still working on general methodologies to streamline the process on the caretaker’s side. In this paper, we focus on a software application to design and propose physiatric exercises from a remote location. These exercises can be extremely tailored on the requirements of each patient and can be monitored in...
Advances in Industrial Design, 2021
Activities for rehabilitation and prevention are often lengthy and associated with pain and frustration. Their playful enrichment (hereafter: gamification) can counteract this, resulting in so-called “exergames”. However, in contrast to games designed solely for entertainment, the increased motivation and immersion in gamified training can lead to a reduced perception of pain and thus to health deterioration. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor activities continuously. However, only an AI-based system able to generate autonomous interventions could vacate the therapists’ costly time and allow better training at home. An automated adjustment of the movement training’s difficulty as well as individualized goal setting and control are essential to achieve such autonomy. This article’s contribution is two-fold: (1) We portray the potentials of gamification in the health area. (2) We present a framework for smart rehabilitation and prevention training allowing autonomous, dynamic, and gamified interactions.
The Design of a Virtual Rehabilitation Game
This paper presents the design of a serious game to help rehabilitation of upper limbs motor dysfunction in neurological patients using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. A special type of VR, Artificial Reality (AR), is used. AR allows patients to see them projected onto a computer generated reality and their movements are sensed by a webcam with no need for devices or props. Serious games like these promote benefits to the rehabilitation process by increasing patients' motivation and making them extend the treatment for a longer period. The game, called Dance2Rehab (D2R), produces rain drops on the screen and the player should try to touch them virtually. Drops are produced to make patients execute a variety of movements on both arms mimicking some sort of dancing moves. The game accommodates differences in performance due to physical pathological limitations: (i) it can be customized once his range of motion limitations and weakness level are taken into account to alter the game for each side and each patient. This feature avoids initial frustration once the impaired arm cannot be required to move as the other; (ii) it has an adaptivity features that sense patients' performance and alter its behavior in two ways: firstly, during a session of use, the game difficulty (falling speed, number of objects in scene and, minimum heights for scoring) evolves as the patient increases the number of hits, and; secondly, on successive sessions of use, the scoring pattern changes as a function of the patients' physical conditions evolution. To this latter feature, the space of movements required from the patient is widened accordingly. A scoring pattern has been constructed in such a way that movements with wider elbow and shoulder angles are the most valued. Fine tuning the speed values, the number of difficulty levels, the scoring patterns as well as feedback sounds and information, calibration procedures and session duration, among other game features, have been done after a lot of experimentation. All experimentation was necessary because there are no guidelines to be followed and it proved to be a challenging design step because computer scientists, physiotherapists and patients´ expectations are very different. The paper describes detailed functioning of the game and the designing decision making process.
Definition of Motion and Biophysical Indicators for Home-Based Rehabilitation through Serious Games
Information
In this paper, we describe Remote Monitoring Validation Engineering System (ReMoVES), a newly-developed platform for motion rehabilitation through serious games and biophysical sensors. The main features of the system are highlighted as follows: motion tracking capabilities through Microsoft Kinect V2 and Leap Motion are disclosed and compared with other solutions; the emotional state of the patient is evaluated with heart rate measurements and electrodermal activity monitored by Microsoft Band 2 during the execution of the functional exercises planned by the therapist. The ReMoVES platform is conceived for home-based rehabilitation after the hospitalisation period, and the system will deploy machine learning techniques to provide an automated evaluation of the patient performance during the training. The algorithms should deliver effective reports to the therapist about the training performance while the patient exercises on their own. The game features that will be described in this manuscript represent the input for the training set, while the feedback provided by the therapist is the output. To face this supervised learning problem, we are describing the most significant features to be used as key indicators of the patient's performance along with the evaluation of their accuracy in discriminating between good or bad patient actions.
Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 2019
One of the principal problems of rehabilitation is that therapy sessions can be boring due the repetition of exercises. Serious games, and in particular exergames in rehabilitation, can motivate, engage and increase patients' adherence to their treatment. Also, the automatic personalization of exercises to each patient can help therapists. Thus, the main objective of this work is to build an intelligent exergame-based rehabilitation system consisting of a platform with an exergame player and a designer tool. The intelligent platform includes a recommender system which analyzes user interactions, along with the user's history, to select new gamified exercises for the user. The main contributions of this paper focus, first, on defining a recommender system based on different difficulty levels and user skills. The recommender system offers the ability to provide the user with a personalized game mode based on his own history and preferences. The results of a triple validation with experts, users and rehabilitation center professionals reveal a positive impact on gestural interaction and rehabilitation uses. Also, different methods are presented for testing the rehabilitation recommender system.
IEEE , 2023
This paper presents a wearable motion capture (MoCap)-based serious game (SG) for physical rehabilitation and evaluates its user experience. Conventional physical rehabilitation relies on professional trainers, equipment, and facilities, which are time-consuming and expensive for users. It often reduces the users’ motivation to perform exercises. It can be difficult for users to continue their physical rehabilitation through the conventional model. However, recent studies demonstrate that serious games have the potential to improve the effectiveness of rehabilitation training through a more engaged and immersive game design. Most of those studies focus on technology and the development of a specific MoCap sensor-based SG design for users with motor deficiencies, rather than emphasizing the users’ experience impacting the effect of performance in physical rehabilitation. This study developed a prototype of a physical rehabilitation exercise game that considers user experience. This game employs a wearable inertial MoCap sensor enabling users to interact intuitively with the game to promote physical activities for health. We analyze and discuss user satisfaction and game experience through user experience questionnaires. The results suggest that most users were satisfied with the SG-based rehabilitation, and found the game was enjoyable and engaging. Based on the implications, we discuss possible future research to improve user experience of the highly accurate real-time MoCap-based serious game. This can enable users with motor disabilities to undertake physical exercises in a home environment.
Activity-promoting gaming systems in exercise and rehabilitation
The Journal of Rehabilitation Research and Development, 2011
Commercial activity-promoting gaming systems provide a potentially attractive means to facilitate exercise and rehabilitation. The Nintendo Wii, Sony EyeToy, Dance Dance Revolution, and Xbox Kinect are examples of gaming systems that use the movement of the player to control gameplay. Activity-promoting gaming systems can be used as a tool to increase activity levels in otherwise sedentary gamers and also be an effective tool to aid rehabilitation in clinical settings. Therefore, the aim of this current work is to review the growing area of activity-promoting gaming in the context of exercise, injury, and rehabilitation.
Dance2Rehab3D: A 3D Virtual Rehabilitation Game
2012 14th Symposium on Virtual and Augmented Reality, 2012
Keeping patients into long term therapy seem to be as beneficial as the therapy itself. The use of computers to achieve engagement and motivation has been sought as a medium that not only give entertainment but real therapy benefits. The use of some interaction devices (such as mouse) however is a limiting feature to some patients with motor disabilities. Existing camera-based games do not reason with the whole spectrum of movements required by therapy. Recent development and popularization of depth cameras made it possible to develop interfaces that can explore users' 3D movements with no device to hold. This paper presents a gamelike virtual environment where controllable situations are generated and users limitations are considered in order to foster movements on an interesting and relaxed set of activities. The development has shown that a close collaboration between physiotherapists and computer scientists are mandatory in order to achieve a useful application.