Desenvolvimento e avaliação de software baseado em captura de movimentos não-intrusiva como recurso de interatividade e monitoramento no processo de restabelecimento do equílibrio corporal na área de fisioterapia.

Abstract

In the process of physical function recovery the Physical Therapy area uses traditional artifacts, like balls and elastic platform, in order to encourage the involvement and engagement of the people during the sessions. Like other social and business areas this may also be covered by advances in technology, benefiting both professionals and users of the services it provides. Several physical therapy clinics use commercial videogames, such as the Nintendo Wii, as an aid in the recovery process of individuals. However, due to the fact that these games are designed for a general users, these resources often may not be adequate when used by people who are recovery physical function, with a minimum mobility to interact. This project aims to develop and implement a computer system in the field of physical therapy, evaluating their use in the therapy of individuals who are recovering the body balance as a new means of interactivity for the patient and a new tool for analysis and storage of statistical data for the professionals. The goals set for the project have been achieved by testing patients from the physiotherapy clinic as well as volunteers from the support project team. The system proved to be flexible with respect to the possibilities of parameterization by the physiotherapist, adjusting it according to specific characteristics of each user. Moreover, the results achieved by the automatic evaluation of movements based on the reduced version of the Berg Scale and the visualization of statistical data by the professionals was satisfactory regarding the objectives proposed by the project. Keywords: exergame, body balance, Berg Scale, Kinect.