Authors:
Dominique Brodbeck
1
;
Markus Degen
1
;
Michael Stanimirov
1
;
Jan Kool
2
;
Mandy Scheermesser
2
;
Peter Oesch
3
and
Cornelia Neuhaus
4
Affiliations:
1
School of Life Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland, Switzerland
;
2
Zurich University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland
;
3
Clinic Valens, Center for rehabilitation, Switzerland
;
4
University Children’s Hospital UKBB Basel, Switzerland
Keyword(s):
Back pain, Physiotherapy, Computer-aided therapy, Augmented feedback, Ambient visualization.
Related
Ontology
Subjects/Areas/Topics:
Biomedical Engineering
;
Biomedical Signal Processing
;
Devices
;
Health Information Systems
;
Human-Computer Interaction
;
Physiological Computing Systems
;
Therapeutic Systems and Technologies
;
Wearable Sensors and Systems
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 am
bient 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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