Colloquia

Summary

Non-adherence is a prevalent problem in stroke rehabilitation programs due to patients losing motivation. In this thesis, an immersive mixed reality concept is developed to enhance the experience of performing rehabilitation exercises. The concept is developed for use in physiotherapist practices and targeted at stroke patients with lower limb impairments.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT) is used to analyse motivation in current rehabilitation and explore avenues of improvement. A Multi-Sensory Design (MSD) approach is used for developing the concept to optimize immersion. Through expert-interviews and desk research the current rehabilitation experience and intended use context is assessed. Applicable in- and output technologies are explored for implementation in the product concept.

With the help of  workshops based on SDT, the virtual experience is ideated and conceptualized. The concept is based around exploration of natural environments, where each new environment the patient is tasked to exercise involving game elements. A demo of the virtual experience is programmed in Unity for user testing. The demo includes a menu and two different levels.

To run the virtual demo, a physical setup is designed and built. The physical setup includes a motion capture camera tracking movement, two projectors projecting on the floor and wall. Users of the prototype are able to interact directly with projected elements on the floor and wall through motion capture.

The virtual experience demo is evaluated via user tests, where participants evaluate their motivation with a questionnaire based on SDT. The user tests compare exercising using the product concept to exercising with an instructional video, additionally they compare different game elements between the two levels.  Results show early promise that participants experience more fulfilment of autonomy and competence, and experience more internalised forms of motivation  when exercising in the product concept compared to exercising using the instructional video.