title: Kinect system in home-based cardiovascular rehabilitation.
abstract: Cardiovascular diseases lead to a high consumption of financial resources. An important part of the recovery process is the cardiovascular rehabilitation. This study aimed to present a new cardiovascular rehabilitation system to 11 outpatients with coronary artery disease from a Hospital in Porto, Portugal, later collecting their opinions. This system is based on a virtual reality game system, using the Kinect sensor while performing an exercise protocol which is integrated in a home-based cardiovascular rehabilitation programme, with a duration of 6 months and at the maintenance phase. The participants responded to a questionnaire asking for their opinion about the system. The results demonstrated that 91% of the participants (n = 10) enjoyed the artwork, while 100% (n = 11) agreed on the importance and usefulness of the automatic counting of the number of repetitions, moreover 64% (n = 7) reported motivation to continue performing the programme after the end of the study, and 100% (n = 11) recognized Kinect as an instrument with potential to be an asset in cardiovascular rehabilitation. Criticisms included limitations in motion capture and gesture recognition, 91% (n = 10), and the lack of home space, 27% (n = 3). According to the participants' opinions, the Kinect has the potential to be used in cardiovascular rehabilitation; however, several technical details require improvement, particularly regarding the motion capture and gesture recognition.
authors.affiliation: 1 Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.|2 Health School, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Ágata
authors.initials: Á
authors.lastname: Vieira
authors.affiliation: 3 Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Joaquim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gabriel
authors.affiliation: 2 Health School, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Melo
authors.affiliation: 1 Abel Salazar Biomedical Sciences Institute, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Machado
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D054058:Acute Coronary Syndrome / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000072038:Cardiac Rehabilitation / Q000379:methods*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods; D006701:Home Nursing; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011174:Portugal; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D018910:Video Games
keywords: Kinect; cardiovascular rehabilitation; virtual reality