title: Assessment of Haptic Interaction for Home-Based Physical Tele-Therapy using Wearable Devices and Depth Sensors.
abstract: In this paper a prototype system is presented for home-based physical tele-therapy using a wearable device for haptic feedback. The haptic feedback is generated as a sequence of vibratory cues from 8 vibrator motors equally spaced along an elastic wearable band. The motors guide the patients' movement as they perform a prescribed exercise routine in a way that replaces the physical therapists' haptic guidance in an unsupervised or remotely supervised home-based therapy session. A pilot study of 25 human subjects was performed that focused on: a) testing the capability of the system to guide the users in arbitrary motion paths in the space and b) comparing the motion of the users during typical physical therapy exercises with and without haptic-based guidance. The results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed system.
authors.affiliation: Digital Worlds Institute, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Angelos
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Barmpoutis
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Jose
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Alzate
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Beekhuizen
authors.affiliation: Computer and Information Science and Engineering, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Horacio
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Delgado
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Preston
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donaldson
authors.affiliation: Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hall
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Charlie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lago
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Vidal
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of Florida, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Fox
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008328:Man-Machine Systems; D055617:Micro-Electrical-Mechanical Systems / Q000295:instrumentation; D008875:Middle Aged; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities / Q000295:instrumentation*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012648:Self Care / Q000295:instrumentation*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D014110:Touch; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014732:Vibration; D055815:Young Adult