IAD Interaction Design

Introduction

In Switzerland over 16'000 people suffer a stroke each year. The most common problem is a one sided paralysis of the body. Rehabilitation can take a very long time and requires enormous amounts of discipline and endurance. To achieve improvement the affected parts need to be moved daily which requires a great deal of effort. In particular the impaired arm is often neglected in everyday life. As a consequence the rehabilitation process takes much longer.

ArmCoach – motivating arm rehabilitation in daily life

The focus of the ArmCoach project is on motivating the integration of the impaired arm in daily routine. The project contains three important parts:

1. A bracelet for daily motivation of the patient.

2. A computer application for longtime motivation.

3. A therapist application for therapeutic support.

The Bracelet

The bracelet is worn on the impaired arm throughout the day. It measures the movement of the user to remind him by vibration that he is neglecting the arm. By moving the arm the patient can fill in an indicator on the bracelet. The indicator needs to be filled in each day. At a certain indicator level the patient gets points for the computer application.
Once in a while the bracelet needs to be connected to the personal computer in order to transfer the movement data and the points.

The Patient Application

With these gathered points the patient can acquire practical tips on arm exercises for everyday activities. This motivates the patient to integrate those exercises in their daily routines. The patient can see an overview of his activities with the ArmCoach movement statistic display.

The therapists are a necessary part of the ArmCoach system because they carry out the individual adjustments, and provide support and guidance for patients.

The Therapist Application

The therapist application offers four adjustments for the bracelet:

- Frequency of the reminder

- Vibration intensity

- Daily movement target

- Level of difficulty

Another part of the therapist application is an adjustment system for the arm exercises during everyday activities. The therapist chooses exercises that can best motivate the specific user. Finally, the therapist can view the movement statistics of the patient.

Mentors: Karmen Franinovic, Jürgen Späth and Max Rhiener 

• bauerMeier_ArmCoach_appendix.pdf