A feasibility study of an upper limb rehabilitation system using kinect and computer games.

Conf Proc IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc. 2012 Aug;2012:1286-9.

Pastor I, Hayes HA, Bamberg SJ.

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Abstract
A new low-cost system for rehabilitation of the impaired upper limb for stroke survivors is presented. A computer game was developed specifically for this purpose and the user's impaired upper extremity is tracked using a downward-pointed Kinect, an inexpensive motion capture system commercially available from Microsoft. A Kalman filter was implemented to reduce data jittering. Patients are required to move their impaired arm, sliding it on top of a transparent support, in order to play the game. The game is personalized to the patient through specific settings that adapt to the patient's range of motion and motor control at the start of the game as well as performance during the game. The final score is proportional to the arm's movement speed. A feasibility study was carried out with one stroke survivor. The game was played for ten days and usability surveys were answered before and after the study. The patient was engaged with the game, found it easy to understand and reported willingness to use it in the home environment and enjoyment of the use in the clinic.

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Balance recovery through virtual stepping exercises using Kinect skeleton tracking: a follow-up study with chronic stroke patients.

Stud Health Technol Inform. 2012;181:108-12.

Lloréns R, Alcañiz M, Colomer C, Navarro MD. Source Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain.

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Abstract
Stroke patients often suffer from hemiparesis, which affects their balance condition and consequently their self-dependency and quality of life. Balance rehabilitation can be a long and tedious process. Virtual rehabilitation systems have been reported to provide therapeutic benefits to the balance recovery of stroke patients while increasing their motivation. This paper presents a follow-up study involving chronic stroke patients to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of a virtual stepping exercise using skeleton tracking through a low-cost Kinect depth sensor.

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Stroke Patients at Royal Berkshire Benefit from Playing Kinect