Interactive surfaces for enhanced cognitive care

Cognitive care for the elderly can be provided by training their cognitive skills in order to reduce age-related decline of cognitive capabilities. This is typically achieved with cognitive games that can benefit from computer interfaces. In this paper we present the design and use of a multi-touch surface that serves as a front-end for games designed to specifically support the decline in declarative and prospective memory. The selected games are a result of both user studies that identified a set of requirements for the design of the surface and previous research on this issue. The system can be potentially embedded on the surface of a table. It comprises of a modified Thin Film Transistor panel along with an acrylic surface. A video camera is used to capture the Frustrated Total Internal Reflection of fingers when these are subjected to infrared illuminators. Multi-touch functionality is achieved by a Kalman-based multiple target tracking algorithm that runs upon the feed of the camera and detects any number of fingers and their movement. Results indicate that users perceive the experience as a positive and functional process.