mHealth and Motion capturing.

Motion capture, or Mocap, is a technique for digitally recording movement. Are we playing games her? Originally used as an analysis tool for biomechanics, mocap is now successfully employed in a wide variety of sectors including mHealth related applications.

Movement is captured through the placement of sensors (or markers) on or near each joint of the body. As each joint moves the positions or angles between the markers are recorded. Software records the, angles, velocities, accelerations and impulses, providing an accurate digital representation of the movement.

Realtime data from mocap enables the diagnosis of problems or enhancement of performance in the arenas of biomechanics and sports. It can also assist in the design of products or buildings when applied to the field of engineering or ergonomics. Animazoo distinguishes three types of Mocap´s.

Gyroscopic systems use tiny inertial gyroscopes that are attached to a body. These directly record the rotations of the body parts. The rotational data is transmitted by radio to a receiver unit where it is mapped instantly to a skeleton in order that the data can be visualized in realtime. These systems perform with no lag in realtime, producing incredibly accurate data. The data retains nuance even with fast moves.

Mechanical systems track body joint angles directly and are often referred to as exo-skeleton mocap systems, due to the way the sensors are attached to the body. A person attaches the skeletal-like structure to their body and as they move so do the articulated mechanical parts, measuring the performer’s relative motion. Mechanical motion capture systems are realtime, relatively low-cost and usually wireless. Movement is captured through the placement of sensors (or markers) on or near each joint of the body. As each joint moves the positions or angles between the markers are recorded. Software records the, angles, velocities, accelerations and impulses, providing an accurate digital representation of the movement.

Optical systems triangulate the 3D position of a marker between one, two or more cameras that have been pre-calibrated for distance to provide overlapping projections. Tracking a large number of markers or multiple performers is accomplished by the adding more cameras. These systems can be expensive to buy, require technical expertise to operate and are studio based. They have a relatively small capture area and can suffer from occlusion as well as being complicated to set up. Magnetic and electrical interference makes these systems highly susceptible to error, they also require extensive data cleaning and technical expertise to operate plus they suffer from limited area of use and lag for realtime use.

Magnetic systems calculate position and orientation by measuring the relative magnetic flux of three orthogonal coils on both the transmitter and each receiver. Magnetic systems require only two-thirds the number of markers compared to optical systems. One drawback is that the markers are susceptible to magnetic and electrical interference from metal objects in the environment and electrical sources. Magnetic and electrical interference makes these systems highly susceptible to error, they also require extensive data cleaning and technical expertise to operate plus they suffer from limited area of use and lag for realtime use.

Elderly enjoying fitness in a virtual reality environment.

People who exercise regularly stay fit, have a lower chance of suffering from chronic ailments and have better mental health overall. How do you maintain your condition when you are becoming of age? Older people value their independence, so for them to continue to be active in society it is essential that they remain fit and mobile. As a consequence, modern geriatric care cannot be complete without a strong focus on physical exercise.

Two days ago, on the Dutch conference Games and Healthcare, I discovered SilverFit.  “In our experience, people will exercise more intensely and more effectively when the exercise is fun instead of dull and repetitive” said Joris Wiersinga, director of SilverFit. “We create the fun element by making virtual reality computer games that stimulate exercise”.

Research at MIT in Boston describes three positive effects on patiënts who work with simulations:

1. The computer simulations stimulate and motivate the patient.
2. The patient practises more often.
3. Direct feedback from the simulations speeds up the learning process.

The SilverFit system is very easy for the player to use, always under supervision of a physiotherapist. All of the player’s movements are registered using a 3D camera. The player does not need to hold anything, press anything or use any menus. The camera registers the player’s movements and the game responds to them.

Many games can be played sitting down to exercise the legs, train balance, stretch the arms or practise standing up. At a higher level, the games can be played while standing with support from a walking stick, walker or supported by the physiotherapist. At the highest difficulty level, the games can be used for physical fitness exercises. Based on collected data, the games can be customised for use in the entire course of a rehabilitation plan.

In contrary to the Wii, the exercises and functionality are targeted to rehabilitation and physical therapy for the elderly. The system has seven games. These games can be played at several difficulty levels, leading to dozens of different game play experiences. Variations in individual therapy, group therapy or group activity are optional. SilverFit is an state of the art virtual training system and it’s price falls in the same price range as professional treadmills and other ‘traditional’ physical therapy equipment.

Play to collect your mhealt-data.

The Wii is going buff with the Riiflex by Power Play.  This fun peripheral is basically a pair of ergonomic dumbbells. Designed to help tone your arms while using the Wii Remote and Wii Nunchuck.  End of this week, Juni 8, the Wii MotionPlus will come to market. This accessory will allow for greater motion sensory accuracy.  It gives the player (or researcher) the benefit of accelerometer and sensor bar technology to record both arm position and orientation. Only for the 16th years of age? Oh no. Leading edge innovators in physical rehab and long-term care settings have tiptoed into using Wii as a part of their treatment protocols, and the results have been beyond their expectations.

Today the Wii continues to be in the spotlight with more and more seniors utilizing the benefits of Wii Sports and other physical activity-based games for rehabilitation, exercise, and just plain fun.  This week’s latest article “Seniors choose the way of the Wii” from Niagra Falls Review, explains how the Wii became a senior favorite in North America.

• In 2006 before the Wii hit the market, Nintendo showcased the Wii at an Association of American Retired Persons trade expo.  Seeing the aging population as a lucrative market, they also donated dozens of games to retirement residences across the United States.
• In 2007, a rehabilitation hospital in Edmonton became the first hospital in North America to use Wii technology to treat patients with balance and movement issues.
• Later that year, the Wii hit Canada’s senior market with Wii games popping up in Chippawa’s Bella Senior Care facility.
• In May 2008, the University of South Carolina launched the Health Games Research Center to study how interactive games like Wii can be used as health-care tools.  Preliminary reports show that the Wii encourages physical activity and strengthens cognitive ability.

Mershon Hinkel, an occupational therapist at Meadowbrook Occupational Therapy, is known as the “WII OT”.  She has practiced occupational therapy for over 25 years and is an expert in “Wiihab,” or rehabilitative techniques using the Wii and other interactive devices. “I use Wii with my patients all of the time.  Using virtual reality and video feedback systems bring fun and engagement into the rehab setting.” Mershon says.  Mershon teaches a workshop called  “Wii-Hab – Using the Nintendo Wii in a Therapeutic Setting” and has a great blog.

Russ Tolliver, Program Manager at Genesis Rehabilitation Services in the Jacksonville, Florida area, has also found the magic of utilizing the Wii in the rehab setting. “We currently utilize the Wii with six Wii programs for our facility, sports, Wii Fitness, and cognitive game/exercises,” Russ notes.  “It’s an extremely resourceful tool to have in the therapy gyms, and the clients are always are talking about how they are doing-from where to they started to ways in which the program has helped them functionally get better.”

Laura Minck, CEO of Ergonomic Energy Consulting in Raleigh-Durham, NC, is seeing more and more clients integrating Wii into their treatment plans. “I have seen several long term care facilities using Wii in therapy and also as an activity during free time,”  Laura observes.  “Some of the facilities are forming bowling leagues using the Wii, since their clients have difficulties lifting heavy bowling balls. This allows them to participate in an activity they love, give them exercise and keep their minds active.”

Michelle Lucas-Webb, owner at Rehab Dimensions, Inc, in the Charlotte, NC area, sees its value in a treatment plan to address balance, ROM and endurance.  “I have seen this in action in several geriatric settings and residents seem to love it!” says Michelle.

Neuro rehab is another clinical area where patients gain improved function with Wii as an integrated part of the treatment plan.  Clayton Fowlie, President and CEO at Maine Center for Integrated Rehab, enthusiastically says, “We use them in my neuro rehab clinics here. Our clients love them. They are primarily used by our PTs and Recreational Therapists. Great results!” said Clayton, while noting humorously, “Staff loves them too!”

The Wii accomplishes three crucial health goals for seniors:

1. Maximize brain function
2. Exercise
3. Social Interaction

Mobile Healthgames can be extremely effective.

Working on your health can be fun. How? Just play a game. It’s an industry starting to find a new market.

Douglas Goldstein, CEO of Games4Health talks about the importance of Health eGaming on PBS’s Nightly Business Report.

Use your muscles as bio-control.

A number of mobile phones including Nokia have an integrated sensor. This allows the activity of muscles and other biosignals to be observed.

Take your smart wear and register. These clothes, which do not differ greatly from tight sports, have built in sensors for measuring muscle activity, movement and heartbeat. Ideal for monitoring exercises and sports performance. The activity of individual muscles can be viewed side by side. The seperate graphs show the imbalance in use between the two.

A step further is the use of this data. Due to muscle tension and relaxation functions in the mobile phone can be activated. Registration can take place in the background. The resulting deduced commands may be used in the foreground on the screen. You can play a game without using your hands.

This form of bio-control is called electromyography (EMG). This form of control motivates to make health and welfare activities. A comparison can be made with the Wii. These types of games, where they invite to expressions, even speak to age groups over 50. With EMG, this stimulus is connected to a specific muscle or muscle group. The wrist movements can be related to a goniometer. This way you can move along the x-y coordinates of the screen. A heart rate monitor can observe the degree of stress. All connected with Bluetooth.

Rehabilitation in this way is fun. Without visiting the clinic, but just at home. The dates of your results will be transmitted by the mobile phone

Mobiel meetbare conditie.

Nieuwe innovaties komen voort uit de integratie van verschillende specialisaties. Als je mobiliteit, technologie, communicatie en medisch handelen bijeen brengt ontstaan nieuwe producten. Ze maken de conditie van je lijf zichtbaar. Helpen je bij het nemen van beslissingen. Zetten aan tot het blijven volgen van een voorgeschreven therapie, waar je ook bent en op ieder gewenst tijdstip van de dag.

Enkele voorbeelden voor de gezondheidszorg en de welzijnssector:

• De stappenteller van SportBrain. Hij verbindt je dagelijkse voetstappen en je algemene lichamelijke conditie met een persoonlijke internetpagina. Hier kun je je voortgang zien. Je kunt jezelf vergelijken met anderen mensen van jouw leeftijd. Ter ondersteuning is er een online community met aanvullende adviezen.

• Nike en Apple hebben iets soortgelijks ontwikkeld. In een schoen van Nike is een sensor ingebracht. Deze communiceert draadloos met een iPod-ontvanger. De loopintensiteit kan worden gekoppeld aan een eigen muziekkeuze. Loop je sneller dan gaat de iPod automatisch over naar een song, die beter bij het geregistreerde tempo past. Zodra de gebruiker online gaat komt hij in contact met virtuele hardloopwedstrijden en gelijk gezinde groepen.

Nokia blijft niet achter met de 5500 Sport phone.   Meer complexe en gentegreerde systemen  worden ontwikkeld door bedrijven als ActiHealth en BodyMedia. In deze systemen is de technologie die de lichaamsactiviteit registreert nog nauwkeuriger. Het gaat natuurlijk  om het presenteren, bijstellen en verbinden van de persoonlijke gegevens. Deze informatie ondersteund de gebruiker op een manier die tot gedrachtsverandering en betere welzijnskeuzes leidt.

Recent wetenschappelijk onderzoek toont aan dat het gebruik van een stappenmeter de fysieke activiteit sterk kan verbeteren en dat overgewicht en bloeddruk afnemen.

Genen bestuderen neemt een vlucht.

Image by gullevek via Flickr

Stel je voor dat je Genen kunt bekijken. Het vermogen om alle activiteiten van een gekozen Gen real time via een speciaal ontwikkelde camera, een genvisier, te bekijken.

Met een genvisier kunnen militaire commandanten de genenactiviteit van winnende en verliezende troepen bekijken. Middenstanders kunnen genen traceren die met verlangers van winkelende mensen te maken hebben als ze door de winkel lopen. De verleider zou nog een extra wapen hebben om zijn tactieken effectief in te zetten.

Beangstigend? Misschien. Ethisch verdacht? Zeker. Absurd? Niet helemaal.

Een nieuwe studie bij BMC Biotechnologie correleert voor het eerst realtime gen-expressie met beweging en gedrag. Het experiment met fruitvliegjes opent een nieuwe deur naar het bestuderen van de invloed van genen op gedrag. De auteurs, van de Universiteit van Zuid-Californië en de Universiteit van Cambridge, codeerden genen met een onschadelijk molecuul bekend als Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). Wanneer een gen actief was, straalden de vliegjes een fluorescerende gloed uit. Een camera, uitgerust met een speciaal filter, ontdekt de gloed. Vervolgens kan de intensiteit automatisch worden gemeten. Tegelijkertijd traceert een andere camera-systeem de beweging van elk vliegt in drie dimensies. Het resultaat: een exact beeld van gen-activiteit op elke plaats en tijd van het leven van een vlieg. “De bestudering van andere dieren zal snel worden opgestart”, aldus eerste auteur en USC afgestudeerd student Dhruv Grover.

Het Department of Health and Human Services en de Southern California Environmental Health Sciences Center ondersteunt het onderzoek. Lees meer op http://www.biomedcentral.com/1472-6750/8/93/abstract

Klinkt interessant, niet? Met realtime gen-monitoring, kunnen we de pathogeneses van ziekten nauwkeuriger analyseren of kijken naar de effecten van specifieke geneesmiddelen.

Ook interessant in dit verband is de belangstelling voor genen in thuissituaties. Zie de onderstaande twee initiatieven.

• FamilyTreeDNA: genetische genealogie organisatie

• FamilyBuilder: ze bieden een YDNA testkit voor mannen alleen, en een mtDNA testkit voor zowel mannen en vrouwen.