Armeo - robotic rehabilitation therapy for neurological movement disorders About a year ago I had a chance to use this piece of equipment for about 20 minutes and it was challenging, fun, and with more time most likely effective. For those of you that don't know me I'm a C - 3, 4 incomplete quadriplegic. July 21st, 2010 will be my 12th year of paralysis, I have slight signs of muscle control in my biceps and triceps but nothing else below my shoulders. When I try to explain the Armeo and the feeling I say it gave my arm the feeling of weightlessness so the slightest muscle movement could be seen. I was able to move my right arm up and down with my shoulder muscles, push my arm forward and backward and the most impressive part to me side to side. One game was a 3 dimensional room and the object was to clean the white areas of the room with a sponge. There's a short clip in the video. To clean the room you need to be able to use all the movements I mentioned earlier, up and down to get the walls, forward and backward to get the sponge from the front of the room to the back and side to side to get the ceiling, floor, and back wall, very challenging. Another game I tried was catching water drops in a pail. That one worked more with the side to side movement. Another game that was hard but fun was the go-cart driving around, another short clip in the video. With this game pushing forward was the gas and side to side to steer. I'm sure this equipment isn't cheap but it sure would be nice to see at physical therapy rehabilitation centers around the world. Check out the video and give us your thoughts on it. Have you seen or used Armeo? Does it look like something you would use for physical therapy sessions? Will you buy me one? hahaha
|
Xbox 360 Kinect - Your Shape Fitness Evolved  Introducing Your Shape™: Fitness Evolved, a revolutionary fitness game for Kinect on Xbox 360®. Your Shape’s proprietary Player Projection technology puts your body into the game for the ultimate experience. You’ll control the game intuitively with your voice and body as you create your desired fitness experience. Choose a personal trainer to help you meet your specific fitness goals, take a Yoga or Martial Arts class, or play fun, family-friendly mini-games. As you exercise, you’ll receive specific feedback on your every move, thanks to the game's real-time precise tracking system. Plus, as you exercise, you’ll interact with captivating visual effects that respond to your movement and impact. Get ready to experience the evolution of fitness gaming!
Exergaming Benefits by Stephen Yang at ExerGame Lab - "Gets You in the Game" is a statement we've been using for a long time and it's good to see it throughout the press releases.
- A surprisingly strong Facebook community of 36,000 + seems like it has a good start on the maximizing the group's ability to support one another.
- Great visual effects and interaction and player tracking.
- Lots of great feedback (formative, summative, instant).
- Hundreds of exercises and supposedly never giving you the same workout.
Exergaming Concerns by Stephen Yang ExerGame Lab - As I have found in my research and that of others, perceived exertion is proving to be a tricky metric as people are under-reporting their levels of perceived exertion. This can lead to exhaustion and/or repeated overuse injuries.
- Although Your Shape: Fitness Evolved has evolved from the Wii version, I still don't like the computer generated "image" when compared to the your actual video like onEyeToy Kinetic (my gold standard for fitness video game).
- If it never gives you the same workout twice, what happens if you really connect with a particular workout and want to repeat it? Is there the option to put it back into rotation?
- With all the feedback coming from the program, will the user be able to customize the amount, delivery rate and or type (audio, visual)?
- Will players with movement disabilities be able to use the this system after calibrating for range of motion?
- Will we be able to move the camera closer so those with limited ROM can still "Be in the game"?
- Will the online support community run into similar litigation issues as EA SPORTS Active (featured earlier)
- Did the designers consult with exercise physiologists, strength training professionals, and personal trainers?
- Did they build in features that emphasize: the different elements of training cycles (micro, macro, meso), energy systems (aerobic, anaerobic, lactic, alactic), tapering an cycling, nutritional demands coordinating with each specific cycle and system?
- As is the case with many of the fitness "games", there does not appear to be any real game element in terms of story, plot, or narrative. In essence these titles should be "efitness instruction" or "efitness guides".
- The demo got me a little confused as it was the mirror image of what we were watching on stage.
|
article from Telegraph.co.uk Professional computer gamers have the reactions of fighters pilots but the bodies of 60-year-old chain smokers, according to tests comparing them with international athletes.  A university academic conducted a series of physical and psychological tests to determine whether playing on computers could be defined as a sport.
Top gamers can earn tens of thousands of pounds a year in prize money and sponsorship but academics have warned the cost to their health could be devastating. Dr Dominic Micklewright, from the University of Essex, put several ''elite cyber-sportsmen'' through their paces to see how they compared to professional athletes. The head of Sport, Performance, and Fatigue Research Unit also wanted to determine whether video gaming should be classed as a sport. The cyber-sportsmen had mental sharpness and psychological traits comparable to 'real' athletes, and reacted to visual stimuli almost as fast as fighter jet pilots. But their fitness levels were shockingly low and comparable to people either much younger or much older than their actual age. One leading gamer in his twenties appeared to be slim and healthy with a physique similar to an endurance athlete. But tests revealed he in fact had the lung function and aerobic fitness of a heavy smoker in his sixties. Dr Micklewright blamed the gaming lifestyle of spending 10 hours a day in front a computer screen and warned youngsters against such a sedentary lifestyle. He said: ''Someone of this age should be much fitter, but perhaps this is the occupational hazard of the professional gamer who can spend around 10 hours a day in front of a screen. ''It is always difficult to say how these things will develop, but it could have long term health implications such as an increased risk of heart disease. ''Screen time with children has a very strong correlation with childhood obesity and risk factors with heart disease later in life.'' But Dr Micklewright was equally surprised by the number of characteristics gamers did share with top athletes. He said: ''Their reaction time, motor skill, competitiveness and emotions were pretty close. ''Elite athletes have unusually high levels of positive feelings and low levels of negative feelings such as depression and fatigue. ''We saw similar characteristics in gamers, albeit not quite as pronounced.'' Dr Micklewright said video gamers would benefit from balancing playing video games with getting fitter but their sedentary lifestyle meant they should not be classed as athletes. He said: ''There is an inextricable link between the function of the mind and the body. ''Gaming shares some characteristics with sport because both are competitive, skill-based and governed by structured rules. ''But the main distinction which precludes gaming from being a sport is the lack of physical exertion. ''However, in the end sport is socially defined and there are sports, such as snooker and darts, which you might argue are on the boundary. ''Like video games these require very high levels of skill, but are relatively sedentary and not physically demanding.'' Dr Micklewright conducted the research for The eSportsman, a Radio Four programme set to be broadcast on Friday. He ran a series of physiological and psychological tests on gamers at the Gadget Show Live in April at the NEC Arena in Birmingham.
|
from ExerGame Lab’s posterous 
Here is the Dave Graveline Into Tomorrow Interviewing me (Stephen Yang) at Games For Health 2010, Boston, MA. It was the second time I've been interviewed by Dave and it was great to catch up with him and let him know what's been happening in the ExerGame Lab. Ben and Beth did an awesome job pulling off the biggest and best Games for Health Conference - and if you're interested in making next year's even better - please get in touch so that we can make it happen. Posted via email from ExerGame Lab's posterous Posted By Stephen Yang to ExerGame Lab at 6/07/2010 10:41:00 PM
|
Turning Disabled Into Gamers, MIT Aims to Spread Robot Rehab BY ERIK SOFGE at POPULAR MECHANICS October 1, 2009 CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- It sounds like nirvana for nerds: playing a video game while strapped to a robot whose only job is to get you a higher score. Can't move your Space Invaders-style ship fast enough to dodge that approaching wall? The motorized arm automatically kicks in, nudging the joystick until you've cleared the obstacle. But let's be clear about this: If you're undergoing robot therapy, something terrible has happened to you--a stroke, a spinal cord injury or possibly the onset of cerebral palsy. And what seems like a helpful robot is actually your opponent, since the goal of these games is to avoid machine assistance on the road to recovering your own motor functions. For the hundreds of patients across the country using rehabilitative robots developed by MIT, the results have been staggering. Not only has recovery accelerated, but at least one study of stroke victims indicates that the benefits continue even after the robot therapy is over, as the brain continues to rewire itself.
But here in MIT's Newman Lab for Biomechanics and Human Rehabilitation, these robot therapists look more like advanced video-game controllers than worthy opponents. A handle comes attached to a long metal arm, which is wired to a dedicated monitor. And each model is highly specialized: The first one I grip tests your ability to move your arm laterally, working your shoulder and elbow; another focuses solely on wrist movements. While most testing now occurs out-of-house in clinical settings and ongoing trials, the researchers here face a crucial test being run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The multisite trial includes three groups of stroke victims, one of which is using robots, while another receives traditional care, which often focuses on coping with impaired movement, rather than recovering from it. The third group is undergoing a kind of hybrid therapy, where human physical therapists more or less act like robots, assisting patients' movements during various games.
"Apparently, this hasn't been easy on the physical therapists," says Hermano Igo Krebs, principal research scientist at MIT's Department of Mechanical Engineering. "It's a highly aerobic activity for them." That's not because the robots are particularly strong--according to Krebs, they're generally built to be capable of 28 newtons, or roughly the same strength as a "weak woman." Since these devices aren't working out muscles, but attempting to restore synaptic connections, there's no need for additional force. In fact, to build successful rehabilitative robots, MIT had to develop machines whose first priority wasn't to push back, but to get out of the way.
Krebs compares most robots to a car in low gear. When you're heading uphill, shifting into first gear makes sense. But once you're driving downhill, the car is actually resisting gravity, restricting your speed. Likewise, robots are generally built for performance, and even robotic toys rely on sensors to avoid either slapping their human owners around or burning out their motors against us. On assembly lines, potentially lethal industrial robots are built to freeze the instant anyone crosses nearby laser boundaries. Building robots that instantly shift between zero resistance and even a minor amount of force is an ongoing technical challenge.
To Neville Hogan, the Newman lab's director, these devices represent the early stages of "contact robotics," or robots that can physically interact with humans. "We're treating the rehabilitation application as a flagship, a first pass at contact robots," he says. Along with the obvious benefits of helping seriously impaired patients recover, the advantage of starting with rehabilitation is that it's easier. Compared to a mechanical dance partner, he explains, a robot that's not very strong, doesn't have to move very fast and focuses on a given limb segment is actually achievable.
Since MIT's first successful robotic therapy study was completed in 1994, the field has expanded rapidly in the United States. As these devices become more sophisticated, they could lead to Jetsons-inspired wish fulfillment--robot maids that may or may not backtalk you, but certainly won't accidentally tear your head off while folding the laundry. In Japan, where scientists are hoping to head off a looming healthcare crisis due to a steady rise in the country's elderly population, contact-capable robots are becoming a priority. Researchers at the University of Tsukuba are hoping to commercialize a robotic suit that can enhance its user's movements, allowing the disabled to become more mobile. But there's a difference between a contact robot that helps you, and one that provides therapy. The devices built by MIT, as well as by universities around the country, aren't designed to hold your glass of water, but to improve your natural ability to grasp any object. According to Krebs, studies have shown that when robots provide specific assistance, patients tend to get lazy, and rely even more heavily on the machine.
The recipe for successful robot rehab, in other words, is deception. By playing a video game, patients aren't simply becoming frustrated with their impairment, waiting for the robot to rescue them. They want to move that little spaceship, or hit a target, and avoid any machine intervention. And as the user's brain continues to heal and their ability improves, the robot keeps pushing them, requiring faster movement, giving them a smaller window to act before it steps in. The games, which are coded in-house, are extremely simple, with no direct correlation to specific activities or real-world challenges. Originally, the lab had developed more of an immersive, virtual-reality environment, but that approach was quickly scrapped. "It confused them," Krebs says. "These are sick people. They have many serious problems. They would simply get lost."
Since the goal of a given session might be to have a patient attempt 1024 movements, most of the games are about as basic as you can get, reminiscent of the Atari 2600. For children with cerebral palsy, the researchers bumped up the graphics, and included rockets and lasers. While Krebs imagines having to increase the complexity of the games in the future, the lab is already experimenting with online gaming. One system allows users to arm-wrestle across the Internet, and as robotic therapy becomes more commonplace, goals are to install devices in patients' homes, and add additional social networking features.
Hogan estimates that within two to three years, some form of robotic therapy could be available in every major rehab clinic in the country. "If the VA trial is successful, that could lead to Medicare reimbursement," he says. Results of that trial could be released as early as 2009. In the meantime, there are other milestones to chase: One of the machines here at the lab is designed to be harnessed to a rat, to help it steer around real-life obstacles while under the influence of various drugs. A little grotesque, maybe, but if that's what it takes to get a robot maid--namely, a few sloppy rats pushed around by their bossy robot overlords--then let the games begin. POPULAR MECHANICS
|
By Nadia Oxford at whattheyplay.com, June 5, 2010  People are often very shy about asking differently-abled individuals questions about their condition, especially questions about how they complete day-to-day tasks. Iain Hanson from Scotland, who was paralyzed in an accident when he was 15, is happy to demonstrate how he manages to game.
According to his YouTube profile, Hanson landed wrong in a bouncy-castle amusement structure four years ago. The accident left him paralyzed from the chest down, and though he has some use of his arms, his fingers remain numb. In a video demonstrating his skill at Modern Warfare 2, Hanson explains how he gets the job done:
"For [Modern Warfare 2], I use my left palm or ball of my hand for the left stick, have to take my hand off it to use my thumb for the D-pad. I vary between using my right hand i a similar fashion for the right stick, and twisting my left hand over so I can aim while I shoot. I press L1 with my right index finger as I press R1 to shoot with the base of my thumb (kinda where it turns into a thumb from being wrist). For L2 and R2 I use my right middle finger whilst aiming the right stick with my left hand. For the buttons on the right I use my thumb, having to take my hand off of the right stick or trigger buttons.
"So that's basically it, that's how I roll! (no pun intended)"
Take a look at the video below. Game on, Iain.
Check out their Website
|
by Jeff Groves at escapistmagazine.com Back in the hazy days of my childhood, I remember a letter from an enthusiastic Mario fan in Nintendo Power. His thumb muscle had been severed, so he learned how to play Super Mario Bros. 3 with his feet. That was a dedication to gaming that was on a level which I could barely comprehend. My thoughts returned to that incident as I looked over AbleGamers.com, a website devoted to helping disabled gamers. How much dedication, I wondered, does it take to overcome a disability to play games? Could some of them be the most hardcore gamers I could find? The exact definition of a hardcore gamer is up for debate, but I believe that every definition has this criteria: How much trouble are you willing to go through in order to play a game? Whether it's honing your skills for hours or learning the game mechanics' formulae, dedication and perseverance are the mark of a hardcore gamer. And what requires more dedication than overcoming a physical limitation in order to play a game? read full article here We want to here what you have to say so please share
|
|
|
