Archive: Gameful Brain Inury Rehabilitation (2013 - 2017)

Abstract -Brain injuries (BI) are a major public health concern. Many therapists who focus on BI use commercial video exergames (CVEs) to motivate patients to perform the repetitive exercises required for rehabilitation. However, there is relatively little work examining the effects of CVE use on BI patient motivation to perform rehabilitation exercises. In this paper, we report on a randomized controlled study with 35 outpatients; we examined how including CVEs was associated with intrinsic motivation using Self-Determination Theory as a framework. We found using CVEs was associated with an increased perceived competence over a four-week study period when compared to a control group receiving only standard care. However, there was very little indication that games were more intrinsically motivating than standard care. Our work represents a much-needed study to investigate motivational aspects of CVE use in therapies for people who have had a BI.

Abstract -Many therapists who work with patients who have had a brain injury (BI) include games to ameliorate boredom associated with repetitive rehabilitation exercises. However, designing effective, appropriate, and engaging games for BI therapy is challenging. Following a user-centered approach we created GaPBIT (Game Design Patterns for BI Therapy), a prototype tool that leveraged design patterns to support designer-therapist collaboration when ideating games for BI therapy. We observed the use of GaPBIT in six game ideation workshops that involved game designers and therapists. The tool effectively facilitated collaboration in the interdisciplinary teams. Findings also suggested that information tools like GaPBIT support but do not replace informative collaboration among designers and subject-matter experts (i.e., therapists in our study). We argue that our findings and research methodology generalize to other domains where communication and collaboration among interdisciplinary design teams are imperative for designing ‘successful’ games; i.e. games that meet the varied goals among stakeholders.

Abstract -The aim of this exploratory work was to examine how a driving simulation game might provide Speech Language Pathologists (SLPs) with an additional evidence-based commercial game option when working with their patients who have had a brain injury (BI). Research has indicated that cognitive skills required for safe driving are aligned with top SLP goals. Seven participants who had a BI played Xbox One ‘Forza Motorsport 6’ driving simulation game for three 2-week periods with six weeks off between driving periods (18 weeks total). Participants enjoyed the driving sessions and did not find the game difficult. We found a marked (but not statistically significant) improvement in two of the top SLP goals, (1) attention/concentration and (2) processing speed, during the periods that the participants were driving. However, participants did not demonstrate overall improvement in any of the top SLP goals we examined over the 18-week study. In future work, we plan to perform a similar study with a larger sample size and improved experimental design to strengthen the reliability and validity of our findings.

Abstract -Brain injury (BI) is recognized as a major health issue. It is common for therapists to include commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games in their therapies to help motivate patients who have had a BI engage in rehabilitation tasks. In this paper, we present a prototype 'Choose a Game' tool that focuses on helping therapists select appropriate games that match their therapeutic goals and patient attributes. The tool leveraged a knowledge-base that we created about COTS games use in BI therapy. We evaluated the prototype through user studies with 29 therapists at two rehabilitation hospitals. While further improvements are needed, the tool enabled therapists to use games from a wider range of selections and therapists were generally satisfied with the game recommendations and the tool's user experience. This project is also a demonstration of a novel research model for investigating domains where technologies are rapidly proliferating for users with wide-ranging attributes such as the domain of therapeutic gaming for BI rehabilitation.

Abstract -Brain injury (BI) is recognized as a major health issue. It is common for therapists to include commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) games in therapy sessions to help motivate patients who have had a BI to engage in rehabilitation activities. However, we have found that therapists are often frustrated with finding pertinent information about COTS games and systems, which are proliferating at a rapid rate. In this interactive demonstration, we present a web-based prototype 'Choose a Game' tool that is aimed at helping therapists select appropriate games for their patients with BIs that match their therapeutic goals and individual patient attributes. This demonstration is intended for researchers and practitioners interested in areas where technologies are rapidly proliferating for a user group who has wide-ranging attributes.

Abstract -Serious games for health utilize game media to help players attain health-related goals. Game designers play a crucial role in this growing game genre; they focus on particularly challenging design problems that are not well represented in the literature. In this study, we interviewed 11 professional game designers focused on games for health to explore how they perceived and approached their work. Our findings revealed how our participants considered “success” and the challenges of designing games for health; we also identified various methods and tools used in their practice. Additionally, we found that our participants were very user-centric and tended to focus almost equally on the problem and the solution spaces when approaching game design. The insights presented in this study will be of interest to games for health researchers and designers. This work also contributes to bridging the research-practice gap in the community exploring games as purposeful media.

Abstract -Games are often used in brain injury (BI) therapy sessions to help motivate patients to engage in rehabilitation activities. In this paper, we explore game design patterns as a mechanism to help game designers understand needs in BI therapy. Design patterns, originating from the work of Christopher Alexander, aim to provide a common language to support the creative work of designers by documenting solutions that have successful addressed recurring design problems. Through analyzing data we gathered on the use of commercial games in BI therapy, we generated a list of 14 ‘efficacy-centered game design patterns’ that focused on game design considerations when addressing therapeutic goals in BI rehabilitation. We argue that our patterns can serve as a common language to support the design of BI rehabilitation games; additionally, our data-driven approach sets up a paradigm for generating game design patterns in related areas

Abstract -Video games are often used in brain injury (BI) therapy sessions to help motivate patients to engage in rehabilitation activities. However, very little is known about contexts of game use in real-world rehabilitation settings. In this paper, we explore contexts of commercial game use in BI therapy through observation of inpatient therapy sessions. Based on a systematic analysis of the observation recordings, we found that (1) only 30% of session time was used for gameplay; (2) therapists needed to provide various kinds of cognitive and physical patient support during the play sessions; and (3) therapists adopted multiple strategies to reinforce the therapeutic values of the games. This study is helping us create decision and information sharing tools to support the use and creation of games for BI rehabilitation.

Abstract -Brain injuries (BI) are recognized as a major public health issue. Many therapists include commercial motion-based videogames in their therapy sessions to help make rehabilitation exercises fun and engaging. Our initial exploratory work exposed a need for tools to help therapists make evidence-based decisions when choosing commercial motion-games for their patients who have had a BI. Targeting this need, we are gathering requirements for a case-based recommender (CBR) system that will act as a decision tool for therapists. In this paper, we describe our ongoing work as a case study that illustrates our multimethod approach of requirement elicitation for the CBR system. Our approach is comprised of four overlapping steps: (1) interviews with therapists, (2) onsite observations of therapy game sessions, (3) diary studies in which therapists record detailed information about game sessions, and (4) a user study of a CBR prototype interface. Leveraging direct interaction with end users (i.e., therapists), this case study demonstrates requirements gathering techniques to address needs of a special population (i.e., therapists who work with patients who had BIs) in a specialized context (i.e., inpatient rehabilitation using motion-based video games).

Abstract -In this paper, we describe a work-in-progress that involves therapists who use commercial motion-based video games (e.g. Wii) in therapies involving patients who have had a brain injury (BI). We are collecting data to inform a case-based recommender (CBR) system that will help therapists stay current and choose appropriate motion-games for their patients. Data from the CBR system will (1) establish commercial motion-game efficacy among a larger and more diverse BI patient population than in previous work and (2) inform custom games that better meet needs for BI therapies.