Borrowing a virtual rehabilitation tool for the physical activation and cognitive stimulation of elders

Abstract

We explore the use of a virtual rehabilitation platform as the interaction means for physical activation and cognitive stimulation of elders. A usability evaluation of actual and projected use of the tool suggests that this could be feasible to perform. Elders perceived the use of the evaluated tool as useful (93.75/100), easy to use (93.75/100) and pleasurable to use (91.66/100) during an actual activation and stimulation session. Previous experience on the use of computers by the participants did not significantly impact on their usability perception for most of the included factors, with the sole exception being the perception of anxiety. This is an encouraging result to reuse and adapt technologies from "close" domains (e.g., virtual rehabilitation). In addition, this can reduce development times and cost, and facilitate knowledge transfer into the domain of physical activation and cognitive stimulation of elders. © 2013 Springer International Publishing.