Developing of a multimodal interactive training system in therapeutic calisthenics for elderly people

Abstract

As a result of demographic developments and medical progress, the number of elderly and very old patients with multiple illnesses will increase in all areas of care. After stays at a clinic, it is important that rehabilitation exercises are continued at home. We developed an interactive training system to be installed in the homes of elderly people that should motivate and enhance the training experience at home. In this paper, we describe the simple-to-use multimodal interface of the system which facilitates the interactions with a virtual therapist. During various exercises, an integrated sensor system recognizes the user's movements. The multimodal visual feedback system supports and controls the exercises of the user and rates his performance. The system allows social interaction between the therapist, patient and/or other users via video conference and enables them to discuss problems as they arise. Furthermore, the therapist can remotely make adjustments to the users training protocol based on the monitored performance feedback. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.