BACKTRAINER - Computer-aided Therapy System with Augmented Feedback for the Lower Back

Dominique Brodbeck, Markus Degen, Michael Stanimirov, Jan Kool, Mandy Scheermesser, Peter Oesch, Cornelia Neuhaus

2009

Abstract

Low back pain is an important problem in industrialized countries. Two key factors limit the effectiveness of physiotherapy: low compliance of patients with repetitive movement exercises, and inadequate awareness of patients of their own posture. The Backtrainer system addresses these problems by real-time monitoring of the spine position, by providing a framework for most common physiotherapy exercises for the low back, and by providing feedback to patients in a motivating way. A minimal sensor configuration was identified as two inertial sensors that measure the orientation of the lower back at two points with three degrees of freedom. The software was designed as a flexible platform to experiment with different hardware, and with various feedback modalities. Basic exercises for two types of movements are provided: mobilizing and stabilizing. We developed visual feedback - abstract as well as in the form of a virtual reality game - and complemented the on-screen graphics with an ambient feedback device. The system was evaluated during five weeks in a rehabilitation clinic with 26 patients and 15 physiotherapists. Subjective satisfaction of subjects was good, and we interpret the results as encouraging indication for the adoption of such a therapy support system by both patients and therapists.

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Paper Citation


in Harvard Style

Brodbeck D., Degen M., Stanimirov M., Kool J., Scheermesser M., Oesch P. and Neuhaus C. (2009). BACKTRAINER - Computer-aided Therapy System with Augmented Feedback for the Lower Back . In Proceedings of the International Conference on Health Informatics - Volume 1: HEALTHINF, (BIOSTEC 2009) ISBN 978-989-8111-63-0, pages 66-73. DOI: 10.5220/0001550400660073


in Bibtex Style

@conference{healthinf09,
author={Dominique Brodbeck and Markus Degen and Michael Stanimirov and Jan Kool and Mandy Scheermesser and Peter Oesch and Cornelia Neuhaus},
title={BACKTRAINER - Computer-aided Therapy System with Augmented Feedback for the Lower Back},
booktitle={Proceedings of the International Conference on Health Informatics - Volume 1: HEALTHINF, (BIOSTEC 2009)},
year={2009},
pages={66-73},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0001550400660073},
isbn={978-989-8111-63-0},
}


in EndNote Style

TY - CONF
JO - Proceedings of the International Conference on Health Informatics - Volume 1: HEALTHINF, (BIOSTEC 2009)
TI - BACKTRAINER - Computer-aided Therapy System with Augmented Feedback for the Lower Back
SN - 978-989-8111-63-0
AU - Brodbeck D.
AU - Degen M.
AU - Stanimirov M.
AU - Kool J.
AU - Scheermesser M.
AU - Oesch P.
AU - Neuhaus C.
PY - 2009
SP - 66
EP - 73
DO - 10.5220/0001550400660073