On the Use of Natural User Interfaces in Physical Rehabilitation: A Web-based Application for Patients with Hip Prosthesis

Abstract

This study aims to develop a telemedicine platform for self-motor rehabilitation and remote monitoring by health professionals, in order to enhance recovery in patients after hip replacement. The implementation of such a technology is justified by medical (improvement of the recovery process by the possibility to perform rehabilitation exercises more frequently), economic (reduction of the number of medical appointments and the time patients spend at the hospital), mobility (diminution of the transportation to and from the hospital) and ethics (healthcare democratization and increased empowerment of the patient) purposes. The Kinect camera is used as a Natural User Interface to capture the physical exercises performed at home by the patients. The quality of the movement is evaluated in real-time by an assessment module implemented according to a Hidden-Markov Model approach. The results show a high accuracy in the evaluation of the movements (92% of correct classification). Finally, the usability of the platform is tested through the System Usability Scale (SUS). The overall SUS score is 81 out of 100, which suggests a good usability of the Web application. Further work will focus on the development of additional functionalities and an evaluation of the impact of the platform on the recovery process.