Home-based training of rhythmic skills with a serious game in Parkinson's disease: Usability and acceptability

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the adherence, usability and acceptance of a rehabilitation protocol with a music-based serious game (SG) and its effect on rhythmic skills in Parkinson disease (PD). Methods: Sixteen PD patients with mild cognitive and motor impairments were included (mean [SD] age 65 [7.28] years and Hoehn & Yahr score 2–3). Rehabilitation consisted of a 6-week at-home training program targeting rhythmic skills with a dedicated SG, Rhythm Workers, implemented on a tablet device. Patients were asked to play the game at least 30 min, 3 times a week. Two half-day evaluations were conducted before and after rehabilitation. Time played and average game scores were recorded. Suitability was evaluated by a questionnaire inspired by the Suitability Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) and rhythmic skills by the Beat Alignment Test from the Battery for the Assessment of Auditory Sensorimotor and Timing Abilities (BAASTA). Results: Patients played a mean (SD) of 313 (243) min, namely 57.9% of the expected time; the mean game score was 48.8/100 (19.5). The mean SEQ score for 12 patients was 29.2/45 (8.2); suitability was good to excellent for 10 patients. Beat perception reflecting rhythmic skills improved significantly in all but 5 patients. Conclusion: This study showed good to excellent suitability of an SG used on a tablet interface for rhythmic training in PD and the feasibility of this type of training in this population.