Monday, March 20, 2017

Exergame for CP Kids: GMFCS III Shuttle Run Test

Pilot study

An innovative cycling exergame to promote cardiovascular fitness in youth with cerebral palsy

Knights S, Graham N, Switzer L, Hernandez H, Ye Z, Findlay B, Xie W Y, Wright V & Fehlings D

Developmental Neurorehabilitation 2016 19(2): 135-140
DOI: 10.3109/17518423.2014.923056

Link to abstract

Objective: For youth with cerebral palsy, will playing an exergame increase cardiovascular fitness?

Procedure: The participants were 8 children with spastic bilateral cerebral palsy (GMFCS level III), able to use a hand-held video controller to play an internet-based multi-player game over a six week trial. They exercised at home at least three days a week for 30 minutes a day and tasked to achieve their individually calculated target heart rate for at least 30 minutes a week.

Findings: The primary measure was the GMFCS level III-specific shuttle run test; where higher levels indicate higher cardiovascular fitness. Participants walk or run a distance of 7.5 meters with increasingly less time until they fail to make the distance in the time given, twice. The children were tested before and two days after the six week intervention. The results showed a significant improvement of an average of 1.7 levels on the shuttle run test. Other outcome measures did not show changes that were significant.

Reference: Reliability of a shuttle run test for children with cerebral palsy who are classified at Gross Motor Function Classification System level III

Monday, March 13, 2017

Social Robots: NAOTherapist

Proof of Concept

NAOTherapist: Autonomous Assistance of Physical Rehabilitation Therapies with a Social Humanoid Robot

Pulido J C, Gonzalez J C & Fernandez F

Proceedings of IWART 2016: International Workshop on Assistive and Rehabilitation Technologies, Elche, Spain, December 14 – 16, 2016

Link to paper

Link to video

Objective: The goal of this work is to identify the architecture needed for NAO to provide therapy without human supervision.

Discussion: Social robots may act to relieve the workload of the therapist, fulfilling the clinical objectives autonomously over many treatment sessions. In this study, early requirements of a robotic therapist have been previously identified: the children had no problem following the instructions; they enjoyed the activity and adhered to the regimen.

For autonomous therapy, the robot must possess social awareness in addition to offering exercises that it models, monitors, encourages and corrects. It should be able to report back results to the therapist. In this case, NAO is doing successive arm poses with the child. The robot greets the child. It then models each arm pose, checks on the position achieved by the child, encourages and corrects the pose by using a variety of strategies to model the pose and to show how move into that pose. NAO times the correct achievement of the pose. Here, Kinect is being used separately to capture the poses for feedback to the therapist. NAO indicates the completion of each pose and the exercise routine and offers a wish to "play again tomorrow".

Friday, March 10, 2017

Robot assists with kids mobility

News

Interactive robot to promote rehabilitation for children with special needs

Kukich D. Published in UDaily, Communications and Public Affairs, University of Delaware, Jan 11, 2016

Link to story

At the University of Delaware in Newark, a research team including mobility researcher Cole Galloway are using "NAO", an interactive human-like robot in a new approach to pediatric rehabilitation. Dr. Galloway, who is known for his Pediatric Mobility Studio and GoBabyGo program, is incorporating the robot into his lab research. His research is directed by the concern that children with motor disabilities have needs that are not met by the training and equipment available today. "Young children’s overall knowledge depends on their ability to be mobile with peers — once they start moving, they begin to learn about the world in fundamentally different ways." The intention of including NAO in the mobility environment is to have the children engage with the robot, and for the robot to facilitate training.

Links

Update on Dr. Galloway's activities

Pediatric Mobility Lab and Design Studio

GoBabyGo "All people exploring their world via independent mobility!"

NAO robot - Softbank Robotics.com