Video games for people with physical disabilities

A video game for people with physical disabilities allows a controlled repetition of different body movements, which can be adjusted to the player’s abilities. Also, the game difficulty can be remotely set for each player by the therapist.

For several years now, the MultiMedia and Acoustic Applications Group (GAMMA) of the Polytechnic University of Madrid (UPM) in Spain has been advancing in the development of a complex system called “Blexer”, made up of different types of videogames, manageable with movements. of the upper extremities, which have the objective of promoting the physical exercise of people with disabilities. The games are adjustable in difficulty by a remote therapist and, in this way, adaptable to the abilities and needs of each person. The therapist can also monitor the player’s progress from a distance and readjust games if necessary without the user noticing. In this way, each patient has a personalized game. The Blexer environment has given rise to several software intellectual property registrations: the Blexer-med web platform, Chiro Middleware, and The Adventures of Phiby.

In their latest work, and with the help of the Madrid Association of People with Neuromuscular Diseases (ASEM Madrid, Spain), researchers from the GAMMA group have carried out a study with people with different neuromuscular disabilities and different states of affectation (standing and in a chair). wheels) with a game prototype –called Phibiy’s Adventures− that promotes the exercise of the arms and the trunk through four mini-games through which the player passes successively to take Phibiy to his goal.

It can be played both sitting and standing, as the range of motion is fully adjustable. In addition, the therapist configures for each type of exercise the time limit and the number of movements that must be carried out in it (for example, he determines the number of movements that must be rowed to cross the rivers, which for the player appears as distance in meters to overcome). You can also modify the game map (the number of rivers, trees, lakes, etc.) or even replace the minigames with other exercises. “Rehabilitation exercises can be programmed in a very individualized way, which favors that they be carried out more frequently and for a longer time than is possible in physiotherapy sessions,” says Martina Eckert, the researcher promoting the study and coordinator of the area. Natural interfaces for therapeutic purposes at the Center for Research in Software Technologies and Multimedia Systems for Sustainability (CITSEM) of the UPM.

Exercises included in “Phiby’s Adventures”. From left to right and top to bottom: “Dive”, “Cut”, “Paddle” and “Climb”. (Image: Martina Eckert)

The results of the study show differences between the participants. While the fittest people played more frequently and finished the game in less time than the rest, the moderately affected group (in a chair, but with the possibility of wide movements of the upper extremities) seems to have had the greatest benefit from the exercise. game, since it offers them possibilities that are not offered by commercial games. For their part, the most vulnerable group (little to no movement of the arms) had some problems with technical limitations due to the lack of precision of the camera in low light conditions, which led to frustration and reduced play time. But, even so, compared to the other groups, they were the ones who enjoyed playing the most (according to their answers to the questionnaires that were carried out throughout the work).

“In general, the games make you forget about the efforts, which is why they serve to complement the physiotherapy, with fun and motivation, comfortably at home and at the desired time and, even so, supervised by a professional”, concludes Martina Eckert.

The work team continues to investigate to propose new forms of rehabilitation in a playful way and increase user interaction. Specifically, the latest study carried out is aimed at improving the optimal adjustment levels of games.

The latest advances made by Eckert’s team correspond to two studies. One of them is titled “A New Architecture for Customizable Exergames: User Evaluation for Different Neuromuscular Disorders” and was published in the academic journal Healthcare. The other is entitled “Finding Effective Adjustment Levels for Upper Limb Exergames: Focus Group Study With Children With Physical Disabilities”. And it has been published in the academic journal JMIR Serious Games. (Source: UPM)