Application of Serious Games in Ankle-Foot Orthotic Rehabilitation

摘要

As the demand for orthopedic intervention increases, customized physiotherapeutic rehabilitation and post-surgical care has grown increasingly important. The effectiveness of the orthopedic rehabilitation healthcare largely depends on the accurate, timely and highly individualized monitoring of clinical data and prescription of orthotic treatment regimen from clinicians. For the current study, a clinician-centered user interface (UI) is being developed for clinicians to interact with a portable pneumatically powered ankle foot orthosis (PPAFO) as an economical and non-invasive alternative to traditional orthotic physiotherapeutic rehabilitation. Interviews and observational studies were conducted on the clinician population to identify clinician needs and goals, therapy scenarios and procedures, and patient characteristics. The rehabilitation function of the PPAFO is realized in the UI through the design of serious games as the main approach to therapies. Through the UI clinicians assemble therapy routines using game modules, and patients interact with the game-based therapy routines independently from clinician supervision using the PPAFO as the main controller. It is hypothesized that such a serious games-based ankle rehabilitation approach will help improve the quality of orthopedic rehabilitation healthcare by reducing clinician workload, and increasing therapy efficiency and effectiveness.