A novel music-based game with motion capture to support cognitive and motor function in the elderly (original) (raw)
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Music and Motion-Detection: A Game Prototype for Rehabilitation and Strengthening in the Elderly
Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Orange Technologies, 2017
Traditional physical therapy methods require significant time from trained medical staff, which is costly for clinics and hospitals, and often leave patients bored and unmotivated to complete their exercises. We offer a prototype for a motion-detection and music game to inspire greater engagement and adherence from patients undergoing physical therapy exercises for rehabilitation or strengthening. The game is customizable based on the patient's needs, dynamically reacts to the patient's performance in real-time, and may be used with or without the guidance of a medical professional.
ABLE: An Arts-Based, Interactive Physical Therapy Platform for Seniors with Dementia and Frailty
Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2018
ABLE is a gesture-based interactive platform that transforms physical therapy into game play or art creation-for example, virtual painting or digital music creation. ABLE targets older adults with dementia and fragility, employing art and gaming to encourage playful, physical interactions with family members, peers and care providers. The project aims to forge synergy between physical interaction and creative engagement to produce a range of positive effects; the platform aims to reduce boredom, agitation and social isolation while enhancing physiological, affective and cognitive health. Our interdisciplinary team of medical and health scientists, computer scientists, humanities scholars and artists together contribute the aptitudes required to develop ABLE with attention to the specific needs of these users, to design wearable biometric sensors for data capture, and to develop the app in a consumer-friendly interface appropriate for independent use in residences and homes. We are also developing ABLE with physical therapists, to create a menu of scalable physical therapy exercises designed to enhance strength, balance, and agility for variable populations with frailty and dementia presenting with low to severe impairments. As well, we are co-developing the platform with a range of participants (hospital patients, supported housing residents and home residents) to ensure that the experiences are pleasurable and encourage sustained use of over time. Offering a host of physiological, affective and social engagement benefits, ABLE aims to assist older adults, as they age, to stay mobile, active, and engaged with community and the people they love.
Preventing Cognitive And Physical Decline Through Bodily Interaction With Music
This paper briefly describes initial research into movement-based interaction design, and argues that there is significant potential for addressing and improving the health and well-being of senior citizens through bodily interaction with music. Music is increasingly recognized as a viable tool in the treatment and prevention of age-related cognitive and physical decline. A number of simple prototypes were designed to explore couplings between bodily movements and musical rhythm. They are to be used as points of departure for a participatory research-through-design process where senior citizens are involved in the exploration and design of movement-based interactive systems. Preliminary findings suggest that even simple and basic couplings between bodily movements and music can provide interesting and enjoyable interactions, as well as physical and cognitive stimulation.
Mobile games for elderly healthcare
2010
Abstract The past decade has seen much progress of computer-based tools for health care management. At the same time, mobile devices have become ubiquitous and offer new and interesting means of interaction. In this project we investigate the use of mobile games for home based elderly care. We concentrate on rehabilitation exercises involving the arm's joints and muscles, employing accelerometers to measure and give feedback to players. We discuss the design and evaluation of two such games, Bowling and Penguin Toss.
Elderly people are encouraged to exercise regularly to maintain good health and avoid or slow down the progression of age-related health challenges such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Despite this, many seniors struggle to find the motivation to adhere to exercise programmes over time. In this qualitative, research-through-design study an interactive music system was tested with AD patients. The purpose was to explore how dynamically adapting musical beat and rhythm can be used to stimulate and motivate physical activity. The system changes the tempo of a piece of music to match the pace of repetitive bodily movements. Findings show that most participants were able to entrain and synchronise to each other’s movements through use of the system. Several participants also commented that they enjoyed the experience. Finally, the addition of an interface with nature photos and visual performance and progress indica- tors suggested possible ways for the system to be redesigned to suit the needs and desires of the participants.
IEEE Access
This study develops a cognitive computer game system for the motor-cognitive dual-task training of the elderly. This system simultaneously combines musical rhythm games with exercises for cognitive training, while the exercises are designed to correlatively combine movements with the concept of acupressure points. Incorporating the concept of acupressure points can motivate participants to complete the exercises. The system has the features of being improvable and expandable based on modular design. The system framework is divided into three parts: first, the motion sensing controller (MSC) can detect a trainee's slapping motions during cognitive training; a variety of installation methods are designed to flexibly coordinate with a user's conditions, slapping motions and acupressure points for application. Next, the rhythm game is a set of games combining images and musical rhythms. Games can be developed to correspond with different cognitive skills; in this study, relevant games have been developed for cognitive skills like processing speed, short-term memory, working memory, divided attention, and inhibitory function. Finally, the cognitive skill evaluation (CSE) uses the cognitive computer games to evaluate the user's relevant cognitive skills. Sixteen healthy elderly people aged 65 or older are recruited for evaluation of the various modes and functions of this system. After four weeks of interventional training twice a week, the subjects' cognitive skills such as short-term memory, divided attention, and inhibitory function improved significantly, and their overall cognitive function assessed by the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) are also found to have improved. On the user's feedback questionnaire, their self-evaluation of physical conditions, the difficulty levels of the games, and their continued willingness to use the system all receive good appraisals. It can be seen that the rhythmic cognitive computer games in combination with exercises as developed in this study is helpful and feasible for the cognitive training of the elderly.
Healthcare Informatics Research
Objectives: This study seeks to review some of the approaches employed to address health and well-being issues in the elderly population. Methods: This article reviews and analyses a range of projects and approaches designed for the elderly population and aimed at preserving and/or enhancing physical and cognitive capabilities in later life. Results: Various intervention measures have been developed across the globe to preserve and/or enhance physical and cognitive capabilities of the elderly population. A selection of these measures is described in this article. Conclusions: Approaches which combine games psychology and mechanics with enabling technologies designed to engage, influence and motivate elderly people can encourage healthy active aging lifestyles. Healthy active aging helps to realise a double dividend of reduced healthcare costs and an improved quality of life for the elder citizen.
Entertainment Computing, 2012
MINWii, a new serious video game targeting Alzheimer and demented patients, is a simple Music Therapy tool usable by untrained care givers. Its objective is to improve patients' self-image (renarcissization) to reduce behavioral symptoms, which are an important cause of institutionalization. With MINWii, elderly gamers use Wiimotes to improvise or play predefined songs on a virtual keyboard. We detail our design process, which addresses the specific features of dementia: this iterative refinement scheme, built upon qualitative, small scale experiments in a therapeutic environment, led to a shift of MINWii's original focus from creativity to reminiscence. A large majority of our patients, with mild to moderate dementia, expressed a strong interest in our system, which was confirmed by feedback from the care givers. A fully controlled usability study of MINWii is currently under way, which should lead to future research assessing its actual therapeutic impact.
Games for Health: Design Cognition-Focused Interventions to Enhance Mental Activity
Communications in Computer and Information Science, 2011
Older adults want to proactively protect their aging cognition with various possible ways. Cognitive intervention has been proposed as an effective way to improve memory loss problems. In this paper, we present the CogStim Game, an iPad application for older adults to exercise their memory. For example, by practicing name-face matches through the medium of a game, older adults would have a chance to stimulate their cognition. Together with the game description, we will also present our design rationale behind the game development. The CogStim Game would provide a more accessible and effective way to address our society's concerns due to an increasing aging population.