Gamification of stroke rehabilitation exercises using a smartphone

Abstract

Stroke is a disabling disease that requires extensive work of rehabilitation to improve the quality of life of patients. In order to increase the compliance and motivation of the patients, stroke rehabilitation exercises have been developed in a game-like structure using a smartphone. These games were designed to promote and evaluate different movements of the upper limbs and their level of difficulty is adaptable to each patient's impairment level. The feasibility of the use of smartphone built-in inertial sensors to monitor the execution of stroke rehabilitation exercises has been assessed. The accuracy of the angles measured decreased along time and for higher angles, nevertheless the differences between real and measured angles are within acceptable limits. The usability tests in a post-stroke patient case demonstrate the applicability and motivational potential of the developed games. Gamification of stroke rehabilitation exercises using a smartphone is feasible and may be valuable for stroke rehabilitation.