Design of exergames controlled by wearable devices for sensorimotor skills: a framework proposal

The application of serious games in health has great potential, but it also presents some challenges. One of them is the effective combination of game design and development aspects with the therapeutic activities aimed at prevention, diagnosis, and motor rehabilitation. Aiming to help people with sensory-motor disabilities to acquire, recover or maintain their range of motion, wearable devices with sensors can be incorporated into the design to estimate and measure kinematic and dynamic parameters. The use of wearable technologies brings potential benefits in supporting therapeutic exercises but also increases the challenge, as it will require finding a proper balance between the particularities of the sensors, the game design, and the protocols established by health professionals. Many parameters associated with muscle biosignals, such as speed, joint angles, body gravity center, reaction forces, tremor, and overall progress of patients, can be obtained using wearable devices. However, their use combined with serious games for sensory-motor rehabilitation requires proper mapping of the signals acquired through the sensors into useful metrics to support therapists in treatment planning and monitoring the patient's evolution, and how both will be linked into the game design. In this paper, we present the conception of a framework to support the design of serious games controlled by wearable technologies that aim to assist healthcare professionals with sensory-motor skills rehabilitation of their patients.