title: Novel Virtual Environment for Alternative Treatment of Children with Cerebral Palsy.
abstract: Cerebral palsy is a severe condition usually caused by decreased brain oxygenation during pregnancy, at birth or soon after birth. Conventional treatments for cerebral palsy are often tiresome and expensive, leading patients to quit treatment. In this paper, we describe a virtual environment for patients to engage in a playful therapeutic game for neuropsychomotor rehabilitation, based on the experience of the occupational therapy program of the Nucleus for Integrated Medical Assistance (NAMI) at the University of Fortaleza, Brazil. Integration between patient and virtual environment occurs through the hand motion sensor "Leap Motion," plus the electroencephalographic sensor "MindWave," responsible for measuring attention levels during task execution. To evaluate the virtual environment, eight clinical experts on cerebral palsy were subjected to a questionnaire regarding the potential of the experimental virtual environment to promote cognitive and motor rehabilitation, as well as the potential of the treatment to enhance risks and/or negatively influence the patient's development. Based on the very positive appraisal of the experts, we propose that the experimental virtual environment is a promising alternative tool for the rehabilitation of children with cerebral palsy.
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Informática Aplicada, Universidade de Fortaleza, Avenida Washington Soares, 1321 Edson Queiroz, 60.811-905 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Informática Aplicada, Universidade de Fortaleza, Avenida Washington Soares, 1321 Edson Queiroz, 60.811-905 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael Carneiro G
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Fernandes
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Informática Aplicada, Universidade de Fortaleza, Avenida Washington Soares, 1321 Edson Queiroz, 60.811-905 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cristtiano S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Pinto
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Informática Aplicada, Universidade de Fortaleza, Avenida Washington Soares, 1321 Edson Queiroz, 60.811-905 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Plácido R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Instituto do Cérebro, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Avendia Nascimento de Castro 2155, 59056-450 Natal, RN, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sidarta
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Informática Aplicada, Universidade de Fortaleza, Avenida Washington Soares, 1321 Edson Queiroz, 60.811-905 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
authors.forename: Victor Hugo C
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-3886-4309
authors.initials: VH
authors.lastname: de Albuquerque
mesh_terms: D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004777:Environment; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010372:Pediatrics; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D063367:Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*