Due to population ageing and relevant increasing bad health conditions, rates of disability are increasing worldwide. In order to preserve as much as possible the healthy status, it is crucial to detect, the earliest, any form of functional degradation. The specific interest of this work is focused on one of the most important parameter in the diagnosis of the vulnerability’s state of the elderly patients defined as Frailty: the handgrip strength. With this purpose, it has been realized an Exergame that, by means of an instrumented anti-stress ball, can be played and in the meantime measures the grip strength. An accelerometer, a gyroscope and a pressure sensor equip the ball that transmits digital data. The game, developed with the Unity 3D engine, was built to be used in the Windows platforms. The .NET Core cross-platform libraries are used in Visual Studio to set up the communication with the device through the Bluetooth LE protocol. The Exergame has two main phases: first detecting the maximal strength and second the fatigue. In order to create a sensation of relax, a deep interstellar space environment is created with 3D objects including a rocket and stars. Ten young adults aged between 25 and 28 years were subjected to the Exergame test phase that was designed to be performed using the American Society of Hand Therapists protocol; at the end they filled a questionnaire to define the usability and to answer some open questions. Both tests, maximum handgrip strength and endurance, were performed and successfully assessed: 80% of the involved people correctly performed the hand grip strength and the 50% the endurance task, on the first use. Through the questionnaire it was assessed the good usability (on average 74,5%), the amusing experience and the satisfying graphic interface in playing the Exergame. All the results obtained are very useful, since they allow understanding how to improve, with changes and optimizations, the Exergame: this will drive future work aimed at making it more user-friendly and more suitable for the correct use in Pre-frailty cases.
A causa dell'invecchiamento della popolazione e delle relative crescenti condizioni di cattiva salute, i tassi di disabilità sono in aumento in tutto il mondo. Al fine di preservare lo stato di salute, è fondamentale rilevare, prima possibile, qualsiasi forma di degrado funzionale. L'interesse specifico di questo lavoro è focalizzato su uno dei parametri più importanti nella diagnosi della Fragilità: la forza di presa. Con questo scopo, è stato realizzato un Exergame che, tramite una sfera antistress accessoriata con strumenti elettronici, può essere giocato e nel frattempo rileva la forza di presa. Un accelerometro, un giroscopio e un sensore di pressione equipaggiano la palla che trasmette i dati digitali. Il gioco, sviluppato con Unity 3D, è stato creato per essere utilizzato nelle piattaforme Windows. La comunicazione con il dispositivo tramite il protocollo Bluetooth LE è stata configurata con le librerie per diverse piattaforme .NET Core utilizzate in Visual Studio. L'Exergame ha due fasi principali: prima rileva la forza massima e seconda la fatica. Per creare una sensazione di relax, è stato concepito un ambiente spaziale interstellare con oggetti 3D tra cui un razzo e le stelle. Dieci soggetti di età compresa tra 25 e 28 anni sono state sottoposte alla fase di test dell’Exergame che è stata progettata per essere eseguita utilizzando il protocollo progettato dall’American Society of Hand Therapists. Alla fine del test i partecipanti hanno compilato un questionario per definire l'usabilità e rispondere ad alcune domande aperte. La massima forza di presa e la resistenza, sono stati eseguiti e valutati con successo: l'80% delle persone coinvolte ha eseguito correttamente il test di forza e il 50% quelle relativo alla resistenza già al primo utilizzo. Con il questionario è stata valutata la buona usabilità (in media 74,5%), l'esperienza divertente e l'interfaccia grafica soddisfacente del videogioco. I risultati ottenuti sono molto utili, poiché consentono di capire come migliorare, con cambiamenti e ottimizzazioni, l'Exergame: questo guiderà il lavoro futuro che sarà volto a renderlo più user-friendly e più adatto per l'uso nei pazienti pre-fragili.
Exergame for continuous and transparent monitoring of grip strength and endurance for pre-frailty elderlies
MATTEO, FEDERICO
2017/2018
Abstract
Due to population ageing and relevant increasing bad health conditions, rates of disability are increasing worldwide. In order to preserve as much as possible the healthy status, it is crucial to detect, the earliest, any form of functional degradation. The specific interest of this work is focused on one of the most important parameter in the diagnosis of the vulnerability’s state of the elderly patients defined as Frailty: the handgrip strength. With this purpose, it has been realized an Exergame that, by means of an instrumented anti-stress ball, can be played and in the meantime measures the grip strength. An accelerometer, a gyroscope and a pressure sensor equip the ball that transmits digital data. The game, developed with the Unity 3D engine, was built to be used in the Windows platforms. The .NET Core cross-platform libraries are used in Visual Studio to set up the communication with the device through the Bluetooth LE protocol. The Exergame has two main phases: first detecting the maximal strength and second the fatigue. In order to create a sensation of relax, a deep interstellar space environment is created with 3D objects including a rocket and stars. Ten young adults aged between 25 and 28 years were subjected to the Exergame test phase that was designed to be performed using the American Society of Hand Therapists protocol; at the end they filled a questionnaire to define the usability and to answer some open questions. Both tests, maximum handgrip strength and endurance, were performed and successfully assessed: 80% of the involved people correctly performed the hand grip strength and the 50% the endurance task, on the first use. Through the questionnaire it was assessed the good usability (on average 74,5%), the amusing experience and the satisfying graphic interface in playing the Exergame. All the results obtained are very useful, since they allow understanding how to improve, with changes and optimizations, the Exergame: this will drive future work aimed at making it more user-friendly and more suitable for the correct use in Pre-frailty cases.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2018_4_Matteo.pdf
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Descrizione: Testo della Tesi
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/140229