Computer Games as Therapy for Persons with Stroke.

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Stroke impacts 800,000 annually, with 65% experiencing residual motor impairments.
• Traditional therapy often lacks sufficient repetitions for optimal motor function recovery.
• Videogames offer a motivating solution to increase patient repetitions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the Microsoft Kinect Sensor and Flexible Action and Articulated Skeleton Toolkit (FAAST) software as a stroke therapy tool.
• To assess the feasibility of using existing internet-based computer games for rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

• Three participants engaged in a 1-hour session playing two games controlled by upper extremity movements.
• Video analysis quantified movement repetitions.
• Participant history and perceptions were collected via questionnaires.

Main Results:

• Participants remained engaged and successfully played both games, irrespective of prior computer experience.
• An average of 34 repetitions of the affected extremity were completed in just 5 minutes of gameplay.
• The Intrinsic Motivation Inventory indicated high satisfaction in two out of three participants.

Conclusions:

• The Kinect Sensor with FAAST software presents a cost-effective adjunct to traditional stroke therapy.
• This technology can significantly increase repetitions in a motivating and engaging manner.
• It holds potential for enhancing motor function recovery in stroke survivors.