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2012 Short Papers ~ Abstracts and Papers

Abstracts are listed in alphabetical order, based on first author. Click links below each paper to view publication.


Link to Full Papers

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Novel electronic musical instrument for persons with cerebral palsy to play and enjoy together, K Akazawa, T Kawai, R Okuno, T Masuko, H Nishida, M Horai, Osaka Institute of Technology/Setsunan University, Osaka-fu/ Mukogawa Women’s University, Hyogo-ken/SANYO Electric Co., Ltd., Osaka-fu/Social Welfare Organization Kibounoie Takarazuka, Hyogo-ken, JAPAN

We have developed a novel musical instrument with storing pre-programmed music score in PC, named Cyber Musical Instrument with Score, “Cymis”.  Using Cymis, persons with neural or motor impairments such as cerebral palsy can play the piece easily. This instrument consists of monitor display, PC, MIDI sound source, speaker and interfaces, such as touch panel, switch and expiratory pressure sensing device. The field experiment commenced in 2008, and at present, ten facilities including National Hospital participate in the experiment. Assessment scales are constructed with 5 levels from 0 (almost no disability) to 4 (almost immobile)corresponding to the performing devices such as single input device to complex touch panel input method. Assessment was recorded during 27 months from Jan. 2009 to March 2011 in a facility. Results obtained from 44 clients (average age: 54.6) were as follows; no change of level was 24 (55%), dropped 1 level (improved functionally) was 19 (43%), up 1 level (decline functionally) was 1 (2 %). In conclusion, this paper presents the technology that is designed to be attractive to clients, that permits them to do an enjoyable activity that may not otherwise be possible for them, and that has shown some evidence to therapeutic effect.

K Akazawa, T Kawai, R Okuno, T Masuko, H Nishida, M Horai, Novel electronic musical instrument for persons with cerebral palsy to play and enjoy together, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 419-422, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Virtual rehabilitation system for people with Parkinson’s disease, S Albiol-Pérez, J A Lozano-Quilis, H Gil-Gómez, J A Gil-Gómez, R Llorens, Universidad de Zaragoza, Teruel/Universitat Politčcnica de Valčncia,  SPAIN

Patients that suffer from Parkinson’s disease (PD) have different symptoms such as tremors, stiffness and slowness in the execution of first movements and absence of balance control. Traditional therapies show improvements in postural control, mobility and gait. Currently, the use of video games with low cost devices such as Nintendo® Wii Balance Board® and Kinect increases the rehabilitation process in PD patients against traditional rehabilitation. However, video games are designed for healthy people, and they are not appropriate in balance rehabilitation therapy. In this paper, we describe ABAR system, a custom, motivational and adaptive tool to rehabilitate PD patients, to help them recover from balance disorders and regain postural control. To achieve this goal, we will test patients at the beginning and at the end of the clinical study. Clinical tests include: Anterior Reach Test, the Time “Up and Go”, the Stepping Test, the 30-second Sit-to Stand Test and functional reach test.

S Albiol-Pérez, J A Lozano-Quilis, H Gil-Gómez, J A Gil-Gómez, R Llorens, Virtual rehabilitation system for people with Parkinson’s disease, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 423-426, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Design of a novel virtual reality-based autism intervention system for facial emotional expressions identification, E Bekele, Z Zheng, U Lahiri, A Swanson, J Davidson, Z Warren, N Sarkar, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

A virtual reality (VR)-based system for evaluating facial emotion recognition ability of teenagers with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is presented. This system is integrated with a non-contact eye tracker that allows investigation of eye gaze and eye physiological indices (e.g., blink rate) of the participants while they seek to identify the emotion displayed by the avatars in the VR environment. Performance and eye data of 12 participants (6 children with ASD and 6 typically developing children) are presented.

E Bekele, Z Zheng, U Lahiri, A Swanson, J Davidson, Z Warren, N Sarkar, Design of a novel virtual reality-based autism intervention system for facial emotional expressions identification, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 427-430, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Subject anonymisation in video reporting: is animation an option?, A L Brooks, Aalborg University, Esbjerg, DENMARK

This short-paper contribution questions the potential of a simple automated video-to-animation rotoscoping technique to provide subject anonymity and confidentiality to conform to ethical regulations whilst maintaining sufficient portraiture data to convey research outcome. This can be especially useful for presenting to young researchers whose limited experiences can restrict their ability to draw association between a treatment and subject profile when solely presented textually and/or verbally. The goal of the paper is to provoke discussions on the subject. It is speculated that given a satisfactory result researchers will more easily be able to illustrate in-session action, responses to treatment, and other outcomes.

A L Brooks, Subject anonymisation in video reporting: is animation an option?, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 431-433, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Markerless motion tracking: MS Kinect and Organic Motion OpenStage, A L Brooks, A Czarowicz, Aalborg University, Esbjerg, DENMARK/Organic Motion, USA

This contribution focuses on the Associated Technologies aspect of the ICDVRAT event. Two industry leading markerless motion capture systems are examined that offer advancement in the field of rehabilitation. Residing at each end of the cost continuum, technical differences such as 3D versus 360 degree capture, latency, accuracy and other issues are discussed. The plusses and minuses are presented including reflections on the evolution of the MS Kinect to be a stand-alone device for PC with a SDK to offer access for creative programmers to develop systems for disabled users. A conclusion is how the SDK enables half-torso and mirroring calibrations offering new opportunities for wheelchair users.

A L Brooks, A Czarowicz, Markerless motion tracking: MS Kinect and Organic Motion OpenStage, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 435-437, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Perceptual game controllers and fibromyalgia studies, A L Brooks, E Petersson Brooks, Aalborg University, Esbjerg, DENMARK

This pilot study investigated gesture-based control of video games to promote and motivate self-driven home-based aerobic exercise (AE) training regimes to improve pain threshold associated to fibromyalgia. 10 patients were randomized to 10 sessions each led by a non-medical ‘game-savvy’ PhD Medialogy student. Control was treatment-as-usual (TAU) patients via the patient’s doctor who conducted pre- and post- interviews, tests, and VAS registrations of pain, disturbed sleep, lack of energy, and depression. Included was patient-reported global subjective improvement or otherwise. A Nintendo Wii was used with a sports compilation game ‘Sports Resort’ with the Wiimote MotionPlus Accessory to increase accuracy of gesture. Facilitator in vivo noted observations and the doctors’ research were supplemented by multiple angle (3) video cameras synchronized to the game play for correlation analysis. Outcome measures were at baseline and completion. Short-term results were positive of those patients who completed the study (n = 2). 50% drop out at study commencement suggested a sceptical patient attitude. Further drop outs (n = 3) were due to a car accident (n = 1) and recurrence of pain (n = 2). Both patients who completed showed significant motion improvements and each purchased a Wii for home training following the study. Follow up interviews and tests are planned to question compliance and long-term outcomes. A follow-on comparative study with 39 patients was conducted with two occupational therapist students replacing the Medialogy student as session facilitator. Three game platforms were studied: the MS Kinect, Sony MOVE, and Nintendo Wii, with 5 game sessions of one hour being played by each patient in regular lab visits (=15 sessions each). This is reported separately with preliminary findings indicating tendencies in line with this short paper. A more detailed report will be included in the publication of the final work as a whole.

A L Brooks, E Petersson Brooks, Perceptual game controllers and fibromyalgia studies, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 439-441, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Advantages of haptic feedback in virtual reality supported balance training: a pilot study, I Cikajlo, A Krpič, A Savanović, Z Matjačić, University Rehabilitation Institute, Ljubljana/Smart Com d.o.o., Ljubljana, SLOVENIA

Repetitive and goal based task supported with virtual reality technology have proven successful in balance training of stroke population. However, adding a haptic experience can besides increasing the difficulty level of the task enable postural responses assessment. We demonstrated in a single subject with stroke that haptic feedback can be used not only for interaction with virtual environment, but also for the assessment of postural responses. After the virtual reality and standing frame supported balance training the subject was introduced to the haptic floor. The acceleration of the standing frame/body provided sufficient information to identify the direction of the postural response that could be critical for fall. The outcomes were comparable with neurologically intact population and could be applied for objective postural response evaluation.

I Cikajlo, A Krpič, A Savanović, Z Matjačić, Advantages of haptic feedback in virtual reality supported balance training: a pilot study, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 443-446, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Interactive expressive virtual characters: challenges for conducting experimental studies about multimodal social interaction, M Courgeon, O Grynszpan, S Buisine, J-C Martin, LIMSI-CNRS, Orsay/Université Pierre et Marie Curie,  Paris/Arts et Métiers Paris Tech, Paris, FRANCE

Advanced studies about social interaction address several challenges of virtual character research. In this paper, we focus on the two following capacities of virtual characters that are the focus of research in human-computer interaction and affective computing research: 1) real-time social interaction, and 2) multimodal expression of social signals. We explain the current challenges with respect to these two capacities and survey how some of them are used in experimental studies with users having Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD).

M Courgeon, O Grynszpan, S Buisine, J-C Martin, Interactive expressive virtual characters: challenges for conducting experimental studies about multimodal social interaction, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 447-449, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Neurocognitive rehabilitation approach for cerebral palsy syndrome by using the rhythm-based tapping tool to extend fields of perception and motion, M Fukudome, H Wagatsuma, K Tachibana, K Sakamoto, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu/RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Saitama/Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-Gun Ibaraki/Tohoku University, Sendai, JAPAN

We focus on the difficulty of children with cerebral palsy to perform not only motor skills but also cognitive tasks, and hypothesize that rhythm-based tapping tasks help to enhance abilities of motions and cognitions cooperatively, if a personally-tailored rhythm is provided. In the experiment with the prototype tapping device, we found that a misalignment of the pacemaker with the internally-comfortable tempo brings subjects a feeling of discomfort and declination of performance if the task is in a rushed condition. This result suggests that a self-motivated rhythm may be enhanced through synchrony with the external rhythm, while it is disturbed by a gap between internal and external rhythms. This is an important step towards developing a rhythm-based rehabilitation method and a design principle focusing on subjects’ individual internal rhythms.

M Fukudome, H Wagatsuma, K Tachibana, K Sakamoto, Neurocognitive rehabilitation approach for cerebral palsy syndrome by using the rhythm-based tapping tool to extend fields of perception and motion, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 451-454, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Virtual rehabilitation of the weigh bearing asymmetry in the sit-to-stand movement, J A Gil-Gómez, H Gil-Gómez, S Albiol-Perez, J A Lozano-Quilis, Universitat Politčcnica de Valčncia/Universidad de Zaragoza, Teruel, SPAIN

Weight bearing asymmetry is frequently used as a measure of impairment in balance control, and recovering symmetry in weight bearing is considered an imperative objective of rehabilitation. WBA rehabilitation is especially important for the sit-to-stand movement. Transition between sitting and standing, or vice versa, is one of the most mechanically demanding activity undertaken in daily life. In this contribution, we present a Virtual Rehabilitation system specifically designed for the recovery of the symmetry for this movement. The system has been designed with clinical specialists, and it presents very promising features such as the automatic adaptation to the patient. The paper is a work-in-progress that describes the system and presents the validation study that we will follow in a metropolitan hospital. Currently, we are enrolling patients, and the clinical specialists are very encouraged about the potential of the system.

J A Gil-Gómez, H Gil-Gómez, S Albiol-Perez, J A Lozano-Quilis, Virtual rehabilitation of the weigh bearing asymmetry in the sit-to-stand movement, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 455-458, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Reproduction of plosive sound vocalization by the talking robot based on the visual information, M Kitani, H Sawada, Kagawa University, JAPAN

The authors are developing a vocalization training system for the auditory-impaired. The training system employs a talking robot which has mechanical organs like a human. With an adaptive learning strategy using an auditory feedback control, the robot autonomously learns the vocalization to speak like a human, and then reproduces the speech articulation from inputted vocal sounds. In the previous study, the training system for 5 Japanese vowels was constructed. The effectiveness was assessed by a training experiment conducted in Kagawa Prefectural School for the Deaf, and significant results were obtained. In the next step, the training system for consonant vocalization is studied. The plosive sounds such as /p/, /t/ and /k/ are produced by sudden opening and closing motions of a mouth, and it is not an easy task to reproduce the vocalization based on the auditory feedback learning. To solve this problem, visual information is employed to reproduce the plosive sound vocalization by the talking robot. In this study the learning method of the plosive sounds is introduced. The reproduced robotic vocalizations are evaluated by an experiment, and we validated that the robot successfully reproduced the vocalizations of the able-bodied.

M Kitani, H Sawada, Reproduction of plosive sound vocalization by the talking robot based on the visual information, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 459-462, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Upper limb tracking using depth information for rehabilitative tangible tabletop systems, R Lloréns, C Marín, M Ortega, M Alcańiz, C Colomer, M D Navarro, E Noé, Universitat Politčcnica de Valčncia/Univesity of Jaume I, Castellón/Hospitales NISA Valencia al Mar y Sevilla Aljarafe, Valencia, SPAIN

The motor impairments that affect the upper limb, such as those following an acquired brain injury, are particularly disabling, since this body segment is involved in the majority of the activities of daily living. Virtual reality systems have been reported to stimulate the clinical effectiveness of the rehabilitative strategies, providing intensive and repetitive exercises in a motivating and controllable environment. The tracking of the upper limb movements in the real world is a challenging task that has traditionally involved different tracking systems. The use of depth sensors can provide a non-invasive solution that can be integrated in tabletop systems.

R Lloréns, C Marín, M Ortega, M Alcańiz, C Colomer, M D Navarro, E Noé, Upper limb tracking using depth information for rehabilitative tangible tabletop systems, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 463-466, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Convergent validation of a virtual reality-based street crossing with neuropsychological tests in neglected and non-neglected stroke patients, R Lloréns, M D Navarro, M Alcańiz, C Colomer, E Noé, Universitat Politčcnica de Valčncia/Hospitales NISA Valencia al Mar y Sevilla, Aljarafe/Univesity of Jaume I, Castellón, SPAIN

Unilateral spatial neglect is one of the most common and disabling impairments of stroke. The assessment of this deficit is carried out with paper and pencil tasks that can lack correspondence to everyday activities. Virtual reality can recreate realistic but safe environments that allow the therapists to study how the patients would react in real life situations. This paper presents a virtual street-crossing system that immerses the participants in a recreated street where they are asked to navigate safely. The presented study with chronic stroke patients showed remarkable correlations of the performing variables of the system with standard cognitive scales, which suggests that virtual reality systems can evidence alterations in cognitive skills, such as neglect.

R Lloréns, M D Navarro, M Alcańiz, C Colomer, E Noé, Convergent validation of a virtual reality-based street crossing with neuropsychological tests in neglected and non-neglected stroke patients, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 467-470, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Virtual 3D shape and orientation discrimination using point distance information, S Maidenbaum, R Arbel, S Abboud, D R Chebat, S Levy-Tzedek, A Amedi, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, ISRAEL

Distance information is critical to our understanding of our surrounding environment, especially in virtual reality settings. Unfortunately, as we gage distance mainly visually, the blind are prevented from properly utilizing this parameter to formulate 3D cognitive maps and cognitive imagery of their surroundings. We show qualitatively that with no training it is possible for blind and blindfolded subjects to easily learn a simple transformation between virtual distance and sound, based on the concept of a virtual guide cane (paralleling in a virtual environment the “EyeCane”, developed in our lab), enabling the discrimination of virtual 3D orientation and shapes using a standard mouse and audio-system.

S Maidenbaum, R Arbel, S Abboud, D R Chebat, S Levy-Tzedek, A Amedi, Virtual 3D shape and orientation discrimination using point distance information, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 471-474, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Self-referencing virtual reality programs for neurorehabilitation, L Mendes, A I Mota, F Barbosa, R Vaz, University of Porto, PORTUGAL

Virtual Reality (VR) is a recent technology to assist in therapy and neurorehabilitation. In doing so, VR enables a realistic performance, with higher motivation and immersion in the problematic situation. VR increases ecological value and skills generalization; however this technology is still disorder-oriented. Patient’s response to treatment differs from patient to patient. So it is relevant to take into consideration a multitude of aspects, self-referencing VR Programs for Neurorehabilitation. We argue the need to create a variety of scenarios that better adapt to psychological, developmental and ecological characteristics of each patient.

L Mendes, A I Mota, F Barbosa, R Vaz, Self-referencing virtual reality programs for neurorehabilitation, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 475-478, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Configuring a mobile platform for daily-life management following brain injury: a case study in ubiquity, agility and ethics, J R O’Brien, University College London, UK

This paper offers a case study of a participant experiencing neurological impairments after brain injury who uses his mobile platform to author the management of his daily life. The study draws on the participant’s own descriptions to propose delineations of the tropes ‘ubiquity’ and ‘agility’ with reference to technology participation in daily life. The study attends to an ethical research matter of privacy in the study of daily-life management, not least where the participant has recorded others’ personal details. In conclusion, ethical parameters are established for a closer study of technology ubiquity and agility in daily life after brain injury.

J R O’Brien, Configuring a mobile platform for daily-life management following brain injury: a case study in ubiquity, agility and ethics, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 479-482, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Development of a system for the assessment of a dual-task performance based on a motion-capture device, K Okamoto, H Kayama, M Yamada, N Kume, T Kuroda, T Aoyama, Kyoto University Hospital/Kyoto University, JAPAN

The authors produced a dual-task (DT) which provides a dynamic balance task and a cognitive task in a game system using motion sensors and virtual images. There had been no DT where a cognitive task needs a dynamic balance task which requires full body motions. We developed and evaluated a game system to assess the performance of the DT. The DT is to solve Sudoku using full body motions like Tái Chi. An ability to perform a DT is intimately related to risk of falls. To evaluate the developed system, we compared the performance of elderly people and young people. Generally, elderly people are at a higher risk of falls. 20 elderly community-dwelling adults (mean age, 73.0 ± 6.2 yrs.) and 16 young adults (mean age, 21.8 ± 1.0 yrs.) participated in this study. To compare the two groups, we applied an independent-samples t-test. The time taken for the elderly people was 60.6 ± 43.2 seconds while the time taken for the young people was 16.0 ± 4.8 seconds. The difference is statistically significant (p < 0.05). This result suggests that the developed game system is useful for the evaluation of the DT performance.

K Okamoto, H Kayama, M Yamada, N Kume, T Kuroda, T Aoyama, Development of a system for the assessment of a dual-task performance based on a motion-capture device, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 483-486, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Counting repetitions of upper extremity movements while playing video games compared to traditional therapy; implications for stroke rehabilitation, D Rand, N Givon, G Zeilig, A Nota, H Weingarden, Tel Aviv University/ The Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Tel-HaShomer, ISRAEL

Clinicians are seeking novel methods to increase the number of repetitions of purposeful movements during and following stroke rehabilitation. Video-game consoles encourage active purposeful movement, however, the number of repetitions while playing video games is unknown. We aimed to compare the number of repetitions and accelerometers activity counts of movements of the weak upper extremity of individuals with chronic stroke while playing video games to participants in traditional therapy. Eight participants were included. Differences between groups in the type and number of repetitions and accelerometers activity counts were found. These preliminary findings indicate that video-games facilitate multiple repetitions of fast purposeful movements.

D Rand, N Givon, G Zeilig, A Nota, H Weingarden, Counting repetitions of upper extremity movements while playing video games compared to traditional therapy; implications for stroke rehabilitation, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 487-490, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Promoting ability with interactive artistic environments, K Sá, A M Almeida, A Moreira, University of Aveiro, PORTUGAL

The intention of this project derives from the beauty of the field of arts and from interaction and immersion paradigms, which are today potentiated by multisensory and multimodal feedback in technological environments. We wanted to see the impact of interactive artistic environments on students with special needs, as a form of self-expression and inclusion, in a real school context. Emphasizing the actual Portuguese inclusive school framework, this study was carried out in a public education establishment, with twelve students from individualized special curricula. Special INPUT was the concept of different types of environments and interaction approaches were implemented in individual sessions with the participants, which allowed to promote and observe their intellectual, emotional, personal, interpersonal, intrapersonal, psychomotor and artistic skills. At the moment, we have not yet closed the study, so our presentation focuses on the process, as there are no final results.

K Sá, A M Almeida, A Moreira, Promoting ability with interactive artistic environments, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 491-494, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Generative design as a method to foster explorative behaviour in virtual motor rehabilitation, T Schüler, University of Osnabrück, GERMANY

The article contrasts the bottom-up with the top-down approach to the development of systems for virtual motor rehabilitation. A research project is presented that uses the top-down approach for the development of a system for virtual neurorehabilitation of amputees suffering from phantom limb pain. Artistic visualisations that are inspired by the field of generative design will be used to constitute the illusion of a moving phantom limb. The coupling between the movements of the patients and the visual effect is not straightforward but needs to be discovered through explorative behaviour. It is assumed that this will help the patients to concentrate on the treatment and therefore a strong therapeutic effect will be achieved.

T Schüler, Generative design as a method to foster explorative behaviour in virtual motor rehabilitation, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 495-498, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Virtual office for students with learning difficulties, C Sík Lányi, G Sádori Pap, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary

People with learning difficulties often face lack of opportunities in their everyday lives, and less than 10% of them have a job (Brown et al, 2010). This group needs additional support and innovative pedagogical approaches, matched to their needs, to develop skills for work and independent living. We developed a virtual office for students with learning difficulties, which teaches them how to get their first identity or national health insurance card, passport and European health insurance card. In this paper we address questions related to the design and evaluation of games developed to suit the needs of people with individual learning needs.

C Sík Lányi, G Sádori Pap, Virtual office for students with learning difficulties, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 499-502, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Developing serious games for victims of stroke, C Sík Lányi, V Szűcs, E László, T Dömők, University of Pannonia, Veszprém, Hungary

This study introduces Serious games, which are special games planned within the “StrokeBack” project. The aim of these games is to support the rehabilitation process of stroke patients who have upper limb impairments and damaged psychomotor abilities. In this paper we will present the methodology and ideology of Serious games, and we will prove the importance and necessity of developing such tool.

C Sík Lányi, V Szűcs, E László, T Dömők, Developing serious games for victims of stroke, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 503-506, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Virtual reality and brain-computer interface for joint-attention training in autism, M Simőes, P Carvalho, M Castelo-Branco, University of Coimbra, PORTUGAL

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterized by three core behaviours: deficits in social interactions, in communication and repetitive and restricted behaviours. One of the pivotal skills we acquire for social interaction is joint attention, which has been also related to communication skills. The systemizing theory of Autism suggests that these individuals have a preference for computerized systems because of its structure and deterministic functioning. It is hypothesized that Virtual Reality may play an important role for teaching social skills in these individuals, since it can mimic the real world in a more controlled way. In this paper, we propose the use of VR for the training of joint-attention skills in Autism using a Brain-Computer Interface. We developed environments where a virtual human character directs attention to a virtual object in the environment, which the user is supposed to identify by paying attention to it. The subject’s brain activity is monitored in real time by electroencephalogram (EEG) and a classifier tries to identify the target object detecting the P300 wave in the EEG. Preliminary results show a classification accuracy of 90% encouraging the approach.

M Simőes, P Carvalho, M Castelo-Branco, Virtual reality and brain-computer interface for joint-attention training in autism, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 507-510, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Robotic rehabilitation tool supporting up and down motions in the bathroom – analyses of the catapult-assisted taking-off mechanism, M Sone, H Wagatsuma, K Tachibana, K Sakamoto, Kyushu Institute of Technology, Kitakyushu/RIKEN Brain Science Institute, Saitama/Ibaraki Prefectural University of Health Sciences, Inashiki-Gun Ibaraki/Tohoku University, Sendai, JAPAN

Flexibility and quickness of biological muscles are of interest to people developing welfare robots and studying physiotherapy procedures. We focus on the transition process from sitting to standing in human motions, which needs to generate an instantaneous force at the moment of standing, and propose a robotic device to help the up-and-down motion in the bathroom by assisting the force when the backside is taking off from the lavatory basin. Our lightweight construction device allows disabled persons to move easily from the living space to the bathroom and assist its motion from the viewpoint of rehabilitation. In the prototype experiment, the artificial muscle—based on elastic-plastic materials by using rebound characteristics in an S-shaped structure—demonstrated that a cyclic motion triggers a generation of instantaneous force large enough to launch a ball. This suggests that the combination of the movable frame with the human body and the artificial muscle mechanism provide a user-friendly tool for self-supporting life of disabled persons.

M Sone, H Wagatsuma, K Tachibana, K Sakamoto, Robotic rehabilitation tool supporting up and down motions in the bathroom – analyses of the catapult-assisted taking-off mechanism, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 511-514, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Personalised stroke rehabilitation intervention using open source 3D software and the Wii Remote Plus, E Tsekleves, D Skordoulis, I Paraskevopoulos, C Kilbride, A Warland, Brunel University, Uxbridge, UK

The research presented in this paper proposes a novel low-cost customised Virtual Reality (VR) based, stroke rehabilitation system for the delivery of motivating rehabilitation sessions and evaluation of performance. The described system is designed to capture and monitor human upper limb motion using a low cost and commercially available accelerometer and gyroscope device, the Nintendo Wii remote and open source 3D software. This is the first project to successfully fuse the Nintendo Wii remote acceleration and gyroscope data to offer a real-time one-to-one representation of the controller in a VR environment. A pilot study established a high degree of user acceptability and high levels enjoyment using the tailor made games and personalised exercises  in a chronic stroke survivor. Moreover, positive changes were demonstrated in all four outcome measures employed; of particular note were improved wrist control and greater functional use of the hand.

E Tsekleves, D Skordoulis, I Paraskevopoulos, C Kilbride, A Warland, Personalised stroke rehabilitation intervention using open source 3D software and the Wii Remote Plus, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 515-518, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Relationship between sensory processing profiles and sense of presence, H S Wallach, M P Safir, R Horef, University of Haifa, ISRAEL

Sensory Processing’ is the distinction, modulation and response to sensory input, and combines high or low neurological thresholds and high or low behavioral responses. We examined the impact of sensory processing on sense of presence in a flight VRE. Subjects (85) completed the Adult Sensory Profile, experienced a 10 minute VRE and completed presence questionnaires. According to expectations, Sensory Sensitivity correlated positively with presence for Minority (Arab) participants and those who failed to look at the window, and Sensory Avoidance correlated positively with presence. Contrary to expectations Sensory Sensitivity correlated negatively with presence for Majority (Jewish) participants and Sensory Avoidance correlated negatively with presence for Minority (Arab) participants. We conclude that for high Sensory Sensitivity individuals it is essential to ensure that distracting technological and environmental stimuli are kept to a minimum; for High Sensory Avoidant individuals, control of the environment is important; for those high on Sensory Seeking, interactivity in the VRE is important to enhance presence.

H S Wallach, M P Safir, R Horef, Relationship between sensory processing profiles and sense of presence, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 519-522, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Haptics visualisation of scientific data for visually impaired users, R J White, W S Harwin, University of Reading, UK

Visualisations of numerical data often used in science, engineering and mathematics are not easily accessible to visually impaired students. This paper describes the development and evaluation of a multimodal system to present graphical data in real-time to those students. Haptic interfaces form the primary interaction, along with auditory feedback allowing graphs to be perceived through touch, sounds and speech. The results show that the system can be used to quickly and accurately obtain information from a graph. It has been demonstrated that haptic devices can be successfully used to allow access to line graph data.

R J White, W S Harwin, Haptics visualisation of scientific data for visually impaired users, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 523-526, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


Augmented reality discovery and information system for people with memory loss, S Wood, R J McCrindle, University of Reading, UK

Augmented Reality (AR) merges computer generated objects with real world concepts in order to provide additional information to enhance a person’s perception of the real world. This paper describes the work undertaken for an MEng project to investigate the potential of using AR to assist people who have memory loss with simple everyday tasks such as making a hot drink or cooking basic meals. The aim of the Augmented Reality Discovery and Information System (TARDIS) is to help people live independently in their own homes for as long as possible and without relying as heavily on carer support.

S Wood, R J McCrindle, Augmented reality discovery and information system for people with memory loss, Proc. 9th Intl Conf. on Disability, Virtual Reality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 527-530, Laval, France, 10 - 12 Sept. 2012.


 

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