Neurology. 2012 Nov 13;79(20):2056-60.
Ilg W, Schatton C, Schicks J, Giese MA, Schöls L, Synofzik M.
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Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts
Showing posts with label balance. Show all posts
Thursday, 3 January 2013
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.
Click here for link
Lloréns R, Alcañiz M, Colomer C, Navarro MD. Source Universitat Politècnica de València, Valencia, Spain.
+/- Click for more/less
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.
Click here for link
Tuesday, 1 January 2013
Exergames for the elderly: towards an embedded Kinect-based clinical test of falls risk.
Stud Health Technol Inform. 2012;178:51-7.
Garcia JA, Felix Navarro K, Schoene D, Smith ST, Pisan Y.
University of Technology Sydney, FEIT, Australia.
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Abstract
Falls are the leading cause of disability, injuries or even death among older adults. Exercise programmes that include a balance component reduce the risk of falling by 40%. However, such interventions are often perceived as boring and drop-out rates are high. The characteristics of videogames may overcome this weakness and increase exercise adherence. The use of modern input devices, such as the Microsoft Kinect, enables quantification of player performance in terms of motor function while engaging with games. This capability has just started to be explored. The work presented in this paper focuses on the development of a Kinect-based system to deliver step training while simultaneously measuring parameters of stepping performance that have shown to predict falls in older people.
Click here for link
Garcia JA, Felix Navarro K, Schoene D, Smith ST, Pisan Y.
University of Technology Sydney, FEIT, Australia.
+/- Click for more/less
Abstract
Falls are the leading cause of disability, injuries or even death among older adults. Exercise programmes that include a balance component reduce the risk of falling by 40%. However, such interventions are often perceived as boring and drop-out rates are high. The characteristics of videogames may overcome this weakness and increase exercise adherence. The use of modern input devices, such as the Microsoft Kinect, enables quantification of player performance in terms of motor function while engaging with games. This capability has just started to be explored. The work presented in this paper focuses on the development of a Kinect-based system to deliver step training while simultaneously measuring parameters of stepping performance that have shown to predict falls in older people.
Click here for link
Saturday, 4 August 2012
Research: Validity of the Microsoft Kinect for assessment of postural control.
Gait Posture. 2012 Jul;36(3):372-7.
Clark RA, Pua YH, Fortin K, Ritchie C, Webster KE, Denehy L, Bryant AL.
Source: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
Clinically feasible methods of assessing postural control such as timed standing balance and functional reach tests provide important information, however, they cannot accurately quantify specific postural control mechanisms. The Microsoft Kinect™ system provides real-time anatomical landmark position data in three dimensions (3D), and given that it is inexpensive, portable and simple to setup it may bridge this gap. This study assessed the concurrent validity of the Microsoft Kinect™ against a benchmark reference, a multiple-camera 3D motion analysis system, in 20 healthy subjects during three postural control tests: (i) forward reach, (ii) lateral reach, and (iii) single-leg eyes-closed standing balance. For the reach tests, the outcome measures consisted of distance reached and trunk flexion angle in the sagittal (forward reach) and coronal (lateral reach) planes. For the standing balance test the range and deviation of movement in the anatomical landmark positions for the sternum, pelvis, knee and ankle and the lateral and anterior trunk flexion angle were assessed. The Microsoft Kinect™ and 3D motion analysis systems had comparable inter-trial reliability (ICC difference=0.06±0.05; range, 0.00-0.16) and excellent concurrent validity, with Pearson's r-values >0.90 for the majority of measurements (r=0.96±0.04; range, 0.84-0.99). However, ordinary least products analyses demonstrated proportional biases for some outcome measures associated with the pelvis and sternum. These findings suggest that the Microsoft Kinect™ can validly assess kinematic strategies of postural control. Given the potential benefits it could therefore become a useful tool for assessing postural control in the clinical setting.
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Clark RA, Pua YH, Fortin K, Ritchie C, Webster KE, Denehy L, Bryant AL.
Source: Department of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia.
Abstract
Clinically feasible methods of assessing postural control such as timed standing balance and functional reach tests provide important information, however, they cannot accurately quantify specific postural control mechanisms. The Microsoft Kinect™ system provides real-time anatomical landmark position data in three dimensions (3D), and given that it is inexpensive, portable and simple to setup it may bridge this gap. This study assessed the concurrent validity of the Microsoft Kinect™ against a benchmark reference, a multiple-camera 3D motion analysis system, in 20 healthy subjects during three postural control tests: (i) forward reach, (ii) lateral reach, and (iii) single-leg eyes-closed standing balance. For the reach tests, the outcome measures consisted of distance reached and trunk flexion angle in the sagittal (forward reach) and coronal (lateral reach) planes. For the standing balance test the range and deviation of movement in the anatomical landmark positions for the sternum, pelvis, knee and ankle and the lateral and anterior trunk flexion angle were assessed. The Microsoft Kinect™ and 3D motion analysis systems had comparable inter-trial reliability (ICC difference=0.06±0.05; range, 0.00-0.16) and excellent concurrent validity, with Pearson's r-values >0.90 for the majority of measurements (r=0.96±0.04; range, 0.84-0.99). However, ordinary least products analyses demonstrated proportional biases for some outcome measures associated with the pelvis and sternum. These findings suggest that the Microsoft Kinect™ can validly assess kinematic strategies of postural control. Given the potential benefits it could therefore become a useful tool for assessing postural control in the clinical setting.
Click for more information
Tuesday, 3 July 2012
SeeMe Rehab software review
SeeMe is a virtual reality software that encourages a variety of physical skills that are commonly incorporated within general therapy sessions. It is a specially designed rehabilitative software that uses a PC/laptop and a Kinect. In a nut shell the programme is well thought out and aimed specifically at therapists for use with patients who are working on balance skills, alongside problem solving, reaction speed, proprioception and upper limb co-ordination skills.
The software offers control over the range and quality of the movement required to play the games along with control over the period of time played, level of difficulty and the colour of back drops to maximise the patients success based on both preference, accessibility and ability.
The games included in the software are listed on the developers website along with details of what each game entails. Whilst the game doesn't list the conditions the software can be used with, the general aim of most of the games revolve around balance, with a bilateral stance, and or upper limb range of movement. By choosing different games and using the flexible settings, it is possible to set the games up to be used with a wide range of patients presenting with a spectrum of physical abilities or limitations.
The following video demonstrates an overview of the software.
The flexibility that the programme offers easily enables the therapist and patient to set achievable goals and therefore the ability to start the games at a level that encourages motivation and enables success. Progression towards goals is easy to monitor, follow and document with the programme recording and allowing results to be saved.
Below explains what data is recorded/measured from each game, giving an idea of the possible outcome measures that can be obtained from the games in isolation or collectively.
For SeeMe Ball the programme collects information regarding accuracy, activity (left and right) aswell as the positive and negative actions produced during game play.
SeeMe Cleaner reports statsitcs of efficiency and left/right activity.
SeeMe React collects information and data about the accuracy of the players choices and about the activity in general which includes the movement time, positive and negative actions on each upper limb.
SeeMe Raft collects data on the accuracy, the activity and the number of positive and negative actions occuring during the game.
SeeMe Maze collects and presents information regarding accuracy, activity and the blocks movement, which can be interpreted as the number of box moves in a certain time.
SeeMe Space similarly collects accuracy and left/right activity information.
SeeMe Sorter collects data on the eficiency of the play along with activity of left and right side.
Print outs of the data is easily achieved with full control of which statistics to be printed being given to the therapist. Print outs can compare previous sessions - reporting all collected statistics or just comparing one. Examples of the different reports are found within the demo or by clicking on the following links.
From the above list of available statistics is possible to recognise the potential of this piece of software to record patient activity and progression.
The programme in its full edition allows multiple therapists to sign in and use the software, allowing them to each record patient details on file. The patient records are saved alongside their game setup - saving precious time each session and allowing for patients to start new sessions exactly where the left off, which is often difficult to achieve with other console games.
There a very few negative comments about this programme. Firstly though, on the positive side, it is very therapy friendly. Its easy to install and navigate around. The setup of each game is easy to master due to the simple layout of controls. The recording of patient results and the ability to print out their progress is an important attribute, providing its own outcome recording system. The ability to use a projector and have the screens split, so that the set up screen is on the laptop and the 'play screen' is on the projector, means that distractions possible from the setup screen is minimal.
The downsides are really only two fold. One - it is quite expensive. With the setup of the hardware including access to a PC/laptop (which most therapists already have) and a Kinect camera at a cost of around £100 (at time of writing), the programme comes in at $3999. The only other downside that was met during testing was that the Kinect doesn't always pick up the skeletal points when someone is sat in a wheelchair with a head rest. It was fairly intermittent and not a failure of the software - more of the Kinect itself (which has the same problem to a more noticeable degree when being used with the Xbox). Unfortunately it hasn't been possible to identify exactly when and why wheelchair users or use of equipment does/doesn't register - this is ongoing with regards to trial and error. The software does work with basic walking aids, standing slings, sitting on a normal chair or the edge of a plinth - enabling many patients to benefit without any problems at all.
A demo version is available on the website and if you have access to a PC/laptop and Kinect camera then I would strongly recommend trialling the programme. If this is a taste of the quality of programmes set to be available with the use of the Kinect camera, then therapy is in for a real treat.
For more information from the developers website - click here
The software offers control over the range and quality of the movement required to play the games along with control over the period of time played, level of difficulty and the colour of back drops to maximise the patients success based on both preference, accessibility and ability.
The games included in the software are listed on the developers website along with details of what each game entails. Whilst the game doesn't list the conditions the software can be used with, the general aim of most of the games revolve around balance, with a bilateral stance, and or upper limb range of movement. By choosing different games and using the flexible settings, it is possible to set the games up to be used with a wide range of patients presenting with a spectrum of physical abilities or limitations.
The following video demonstrates an overview of the software.
The flexibility that the programme offers easily enables the therapist and patient to set achievable goals and therefore the ability to start the games at a level that encourages motivation and enables success. Progression towards goals is easy to monitor, follow and document with the programme recording and allowing results to be saved.
Below explains what data is recorded/measured from each game, giving an idea of the possible outcome measures that can be obtained from the games in isolation or collectively.
For SeeMe Ball the programme collects information regarding accuracy, activity (left and right) aswell as the positive and negative actions produced during game play.
SeeMe Cleaner reports statsitcs of efficiency and left/right activity.
SeeMe React collects information and data about the accuracy of the players choices and about the activity in general which includes the movement time, positive and negative actions on each upper limb.
SeeMe Raft collects data on the accuracy, the activity and the number of positive and negative actions occuring during the game.
SeeMe Maze collects and presents information regarding accuracy, activity and the blocks movement, which can be interpreted as the number of box moves in a certain time.
SeeMe Space similarly collects accuracy and left/right activity information.
SeeMe Sorter collects data on the eficiency of the play along with activity of left and right side.
Print outs of the data is easily achieved with full control of which statistics to be printed being given to the therapist. Print outs can compare previous sessions - reporting all collected statistics or just comparing one. Examples of the different reports are found within the demo or by clicking on the following links.
From the above list of available statistics is possible to recognise the potential of this piece of software to record patient activity and progression.
The programme in its full edition allows multiple therapists to sign in and use the software, allowing them to each record patient details on file. The patient records are saved alongside their game setup - saving precious time each session and allowing for patients to start new sessions exactly where the left off, which is often difficult to achieve with other console games.
There a very few negative comments about this programme. Firstly though, on the positive side, it is very therapy friendly. Its easy to install and navigate around. The setup of each game is easy to master due to the simple layout of controls. The recording of patient results and the ability to print out their progress is an important attribute, providing its own outcome recording system. The ability to use a projector and have the screens split, so that the set up screen is on the laptop and the 'play screen' is on the projector, means that distractions possible from the setup screen is minimal.
The downsides are really only two fold. One - it is quite expensive. With the setup of the hardware including access to a PC/laptop (which most therapists already have) and a Kinect camera at a cost of around £100 (at time of writing), the programme comes in at $3999. The only other downside that was met during testing was that the Kinect doesn't always pick up the skeletal points when someone is sat in a wheelchair with a head rest. It was fairly intermittent and not a failure of the software - more of the Kinect itself (which has the same problem to a more noticeable degree when being used with the Xbox). Unfortunately it hasn't been possible to identify exactly when and why wheelchair users or use of equipment does/doesn't register - this is ongoing with regards to trial and error. The software does work with basic walking aids, standing slings, sitting on a normal chair or the edge of a plinth - enabling many patients to benefit without any problems at all.
A demo version is available on the website and if you have access to a PC/laptop and Kinect camera then I would strongly recommend trialling the programme. If this is a taste of the quality of programmes set to be available with the use of the Kinect camera, then therapy is in for a real treat.
For more information from the developers website - click here
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Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Degenerative ataxias in children present a rare condition where effective treatments are lacking. Intensive coordinative training based on physiotherapeutic exercises improves degenerative ataxia in adults, but such exercises have drawbacks for children, often including a lack of motivation for high-frequent physiotherapy. Recently developed whole-body controlled video game technology might present a novel treatment strategy for highly interactive and motivational coordinative training for children with degenerative ataxias.
METHODS: We examined the effectiveness of an 8-week coordinative training for 10 children with progressive spinocerebellar ataxia. Training was based on 3 Microsoft Xbox Kinect video games particularly suitable to exercise whole-body coordination and dynamic balance. Training was started with a laboratory-based 2-week training phase and followed by 6 weeks training in children's home environment. Rater-blinded assessments were performed 2 weeks before laboratory-based training, immediately prior to and after the laboratory-based training period, as well as after home training. These assessments allowed for an intraindividual control design, where performance changes with and without training were compared.
RESULTS: Ataxia symptoms were significantly reduced (decrease in Scale for the Assessment and Rating of Ataxia score, p = 0.0078) and balance capacities improved (dynamic gait index, p = 0.04) after intervention. Quantitative movement analysis revealed improvements in gait (lateral sway: p = 0.01; step length variability: p = 0.01) and in goal-directed leg placement (p = 0.03).
CONCLUSIONS: Despite progressive cerebellar degeneration, children are able to improve motor performance by intensive coordination training. Directed training of whole-body controlled video games might present a highly motivational, cost-efficient, and home-based rehabilitation strategy to train dynamic balance and interaction with dynamic environments in a large variety of young-onset neurologic conditions.
CLASSIFICATION OF EVIDENCE: This study provides Class III evidence that directed training with Xbox Kinect video games can improve several signs of ataxia in adolescents with progressive ataxia as measured by SARA score, Dynamic Gait Index, and Activity-specific Balance Confidence Scale at 8 weeks of training.
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