Playing for a real bonus: Videogames to empower elderly people (original) (raw)
Related papers
Eldergames: videogames for empowering, training and monitoring elderly cognitive capabilities
Gerontechnology, 2008
Recent solutions offered by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in elderly care and interventions have reached considerable levels of effectiveness; an emerging new approach to psychological, cognitive and neuropsychological rehabilitation is represented by the use of interactive applications such as videogames. Eldergames is an EU funded project aiming at developing a system to enrich the quality of life of elderly people, through an interactive tabletop solution, while simultaneously trying to reduce the natural physical and cognitive decline derived from aging. The paper considers the benefits of a cognitive training performed via videogames, and describes the solution offered by the Eldergames system. I. INTRODUCTION HE great increase of old population, and of the ensuing economic and social costs represent an urgent issue that contemporary society should address with proper plans [1]. When compared with the global population, the European one results to be the oldest: its median age is 39 [2], with concerning esteems for the next 20 years, when old people will be more than 1.2 billion [3]. The increase of the percentage of the old population has implications for the society as much as for the individuals; as a general datum, it has been estimated that up to 50% of people aged over 85 suffers from a cognitive decline [4]. The aging process involves changes in the physical and
Universal Access in the Information Society, 2020
In this work the results of a usability and user experience (UX) evaluation of a serious video game for the cognitive stimulation and motor rehabilitation of the upper limb of the elderly are presented. The serious game includes features that allow (i) performing cooperative therapy exercises between two patients, (ii) remote session configuration therapy, and (iii) monitoring/analyzing the sessions' results by the therapist. An evaluation of the game with 16 older adults provides evidence about how the tool is perceived by participants, who embraced it as stimulating, useful, usable and even fun, and which impacts in therapy compliance and acceptability by the elderly. In addition, through an in-deep analysis of the participants' performance and observed emotions, as well as on their self-report, we determined which engagement attributes are present in the game. Finally, we also found evidence that suggests that the participants' skill level and the game difficulty level rather than just a good performance on the game, are key factors that influence their enjoyment and frustration.
Serious Games and Rehabilitation for Elderly Adults
Global Scientific Journal (GSJ) 6, 1: 275 - 283., 2018
Healthcare is continually being improved, especially regarding the use of the current technologies. In the field of rehabilitation, the use of serious games and related technologies may help to develop new rehabilitation procedures. There are several approaches in the area of rehabilitation that invoke technology for a more comprehensive and dynamic learning process aimed at the physical and psychological recovery of persons with a disability or limitations, with a view to their possible recovery and reintegration. This contribution presents research on systems for rehabilitation, focusing on the elderly, based on exercises and serious games. It provides an overview of the state of the art, in order to support and guide future work in this area.
Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences
BACKGROUND: Video games are new and potentially helpful technology that can be implemented on any computing device. The specific features and role of physical activity in the prevention and treatment of the elderly are well known but its impact on their quality of life is understudied. Video games are suitable for use on their own or in combination with other physiotherapy approaches in healthy people or patients with central and peripheral nervous system disorders. AIM: To assess the impact of 3D camera rehabilitation video games on quality of life in practically healthy elderly. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted with 50 practically healthy adults and older adults (24 women were included in the experimental group, with an average age of 76.75 ± 6.89, and 26 women in the control group, with an average age of 73.69 ± 6.89). The effect on their quality of life after the application of video games for rehabilitation with a 3D camera was evaluated and compared with a contro...
Cognition, technology and games for the elderly: An introduction to ELDERGAMES Project
Psychnology Journal, 2006
Eldergames is a EU-funded project to develop games using advanced visualisation and interaction interfaces to improve the cognitive, functional and social skills of older users. The project merges two major areas to which technology for elderly people is applied: health and social engagement. Its platform will allow users to improve their cognitive skills and individual well-being by playing on a mixed-reality platform; in addition, it will offer the unusual experience of communicating with people located in other countries without the need to share the same language. After introducing the field of gerontology and the project, this paper describes the main cognitive abilities that change with aging (perception, attention, memory, and other more specific processes such as decision-making), and that have to be taken into account while designing a technology for elderly people. Some guidelines that are specifically meant to ensure usability of these products are listed in the conclusions.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
An interactive digital gaming system with simple tangible interfaces is proposed for use by slightly disabled elderly people to promote their health and enjoyment of playful aging. The system simulates a rice threshing machine with nostalgic and entertaining functions expected to bring better life quality to older adults. Initially, pieces of literature were reviewed to derive relevant design principles. A prototype system was constructed accordingly and refined according to the invited older users’ comments. The refined system was performed subsequently by slightly disabled elderly people, followed by a questionnaire survey conducted to collect their opinions. The opinion data were analyzed statistically by SPSS and AMOS to be reliable and valid. In addition, interviews were conducted with the users and experts were invited to collect comments on the system’s usability, which were then evaluated to reveal several findings about the system’s effectiveness: (1) digital products relat...
Serious Games for the Cognitive Stimulation of Adults: A Proposal of a Pilot Project
Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, 2016
One of the major challenges for healthcare professionals in the XXI century is the increasing number of elderly in the world population. It is clearly important to find ways to stimulate cognitively this population, helping them to develop strategies and maintaining independency in their daily life activities. Conventional cognitive stimulation is time consuming task often causing discomfort in patients. Computer based tools may be used to perform cognitive stimulation and improve transferability in a setting that does not increase anxiety in individuals. This paper aims to present a pilot study of automatic platforms to enhance the cognitive process for older adults in order to promote an active aging.
Designing and Evaluating Digital Games for Frail Elderly Persons
2011
Game research increasingly addresses human factors of gaming. Though more and more seniors become players, game design for frail elderly has rarely been explored. This paper addresses game design for senior citizens experiencing age-related changes, especially cognitive and physical limitations. We introduce and evaluate the case study SilverPromenade, which is specifically aimed at providing institutionalized frail elderly with a new leisure activity. SilverPromenade allows players to go on virtual walks while accounting for special needs regarding game complexity, and simplistic interaction paradigms are provided using Nintendo"s Wii Remote and the Balance Board for game control. Evaluation results suggest that despite age-related impairments, the game was generally accessible to elderly persons. Yet, differences between inexperienced and experienced players were observed which suggest that interaction problems may be reduced by engaging with games over a longer time.
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.