Loading...
3 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- User experience of interactive technologies for people with dementia: comparative observational studyPublication . Ferreira, Luis Duarte Andrade; Ferreira, Henrique; Cavaco, Sofia; Cameirão, Mónica; Bermúdez i Badia, SergiBackground: Serious games (SGs) are used as complementary approaches to stimulate patients with dementia. However, many of the SGs use out-of-the-shelf technologies that may not always be suitable for such populations, as they can lead to negative behaviors, such as anxiety, fatigue, and even cybersickness. Objective: This study aims to evaluate how patients with dementia interact and accept 5 out-of-the-shelf technologies while completing 10 virtual reality tasks. Methods: A total of 12 participants diagnosed with dementia (mean age 75.08 [SD 8.07] years, mean Mini-Mental State Examination score 17.33 [SD 5.79], and mean schooling 5.55 [SD 3.30]) at a health care center in Portugal were invited to participate in this study. A within-subject experimental design was used to allow all participants to interact with all technologies, such as HTC VIVE, head-mounted display (HMD), tablet, mouse, augmented reality (AR), leap motion (LM), and a combination of HMD with LM. Participants’ performance was quantified through behavioral and verbal responses, which were captured through video recordings and written notes. Results: The findings of this study revealed that the user experience using technology was dependent on the patient profile; the patients had a better user experience when they use technologies with direct interaction configuration as opposed to indirect interaction configuration in terms of assistance required (P=.01) and comprehension (P=.01); the participants did not trigger any emotional responses when using any of the technologies; the participants’performance was task-dependent; the most cost-effective technology was the mouse, whereas the least cost-effective was AR; and all the technologies, except for one (HMD with LM), were not exposed to external hazards. Conclusions: Most participants were able to perform tasks using out-of-the-shelf technologies. However, there is no perfect technology, as they are not explicitly designed to address the needs and skills of people with dementia. Here, we propose a set of guidelines that aim to help health professionals and engineers maximize user experience when using such technologies for the population with dementia.
- Music-based assistive feedback system for the exploration of virtual environments in individuals with dementiaPublication . Ferreira, Luis Duarte Andrade; Cameirão, Mónica S.; Bermúdez i Badia, SergiMusic is a powerful tool that shapes human experience since infancy with a known positive effect on health. As such, music has been used to aid in a variety of conditions among which Alzheimer's disease (AD). Although AD is known for disrupting competences related to activities of daily living, several learning paradigms have been applied to re-stimulate such competences. In this study, we explore the feasibility of a learning enhancement method that is based on musical distortions. We developed a quiz-type game where participants with dementia had to find the right answer. Two conditions were created, one condition exploited feedback based on musical distortion while the second condition was based on visual distortion. We applied a within-subjects study design, and measured the performance in terms of time and errors in 7 patients with dementia. The results support our hypothesis that music-based feedback can be an effective enhancer of task performance when compared to visual feedback in patients suffering dementia.
- Customizing a cognitive stimulation program for individuals with dementia through a participatory design approachPublication . Spínola, Mónica; Câmara, Joana; Ferreira, Luis; Faria, Ana Lúcia; Bermúdez i Badia, SergiBackground: Different intervention strategies, such as reminiscence and music-based therapies, effectively mitigate the cognitive decline of individuals with dementia (IwD). An important challenge when implementing these approaches lies in the need for content customization. We de signed Musiquence platform, a framework that allows the customization of music and reminiscence content in cognitive stimulation activities. (2) Methods: Here, we present a participatory design methodology for designing a seven-week customized cognitive stimulation program (CCSP) for IwD using Musiquence. We ran focus groups with 19 formal caregivers, who provided information regarding themes and music to be used in activities for IwD, and gathered preferences from 20 IwD. (3) Results: The CCSP consists of seven cycles of tasks combining the activities available in Musiquence, the seven preferential themes of IwD, and the seven songs most frequently referenced by formal caregivers. (4) Conclusions: Finally, we provide a set of guidelines to implement a participatory design approach for content development together with IwD.