IEEE Conference on Games - paper presentation on our newest music medtech game!

This week, our new prototype game using music and motion capture to support cognition and motor function in the elderly will be presented at the IEEE Conference on Games in London, UK. The game was developed as part of a UROP (Undergraduate Research Opportunity) project led by myself, Prof. Simon Lui (Tencent), and Prof. Dorien Herremans (SUTD). The paper is available here.

Abstract: This paper presents a novel game prototype that uses music and motion detection as preventive medicine for the elderly. Given the aging populations around the globe, and the limited resources and staff able to care for these populations, eHealth solutions are becoming increasingly important, if not crucial, additions to modern healthcare and preventive medicine. Furthermore, because compliance rates for performing physical exercises are often quite low in the elderly, systems able to motivate and engage this population are a necessity. Our prototype uses music not only to engage listeners, but also to leverage the efficacy of music to improve mental and physical wellness. The game is based on a memory task to stimulate cognitive function, and requires users to perform physical gestures to mimic the playing of different musical instruments. To this end, the Microsoft Kinect sensor is used together with a newly developed gesture detection module in order to process users’ gestures. The resulting prototype system supports both cognitive functioning and physical strengthening in the elderly