Serious Games Are Not Serious Enough for Myoelectric Prosthetics

Area of Science:

• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Prosthetics Engineering

Background:

• Serious games offer potential for movement rehabilitation, particularly for upper limb prosthetics.
• Research in this area is diverse, with varying researcher backgrounds and investigative approaches.
• Virtual training software for prosthetic rehabilitation typically follows two main strategies: game design for engagement or accurate task representation for skill transfer.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine and categorize current virtual training software for upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation.
• To analyze the trends and progress in the application of serious games for prosthetic training.
• To offer a perspective on the balance between engagement and skill transfer in serious games for rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

• A close examination and categorization of existing virtual training software for upper limb prosthetic rehabilitation.
• Review of previous studies on the effectiveness of muscle training versus task-specific skill transfer.
• Analysis of recent trends influenced by software and hardware availability, including game development engines.

Main Results:

• Two primary approaches in virtual prosthetic training software were identified: focusing on game design for engagement and muscle training, or on accurate task representation for skill transfer.
• Previous research indicates that muscle training alone is insufficient for improved prosthetic control without a suitable task structure that enables skill transfer.
• A recent surge in game-based prosthetic training tools emphasizes engagement, potentially overlooking the critical aspect of skill transfer.

Conclusions:

• While serious games show promise for prosthetic rehabilitation, a gap exists between engagement-focused designs and those facilitating task-specific skill transfer.
• The increasing availability of development tools has led to a proliferation of engagement-centric games, which may not optimize prosthetic control.
• Future efforts should aim to integrate robust game design with principles that ensure effective skill transfer for enhanced prosthetic rehabilitation outcomes.