Reducing Compensatory Motions in Motion-Based Video Games for Stroke Rehabilitation

These compensatory motions are often performed unconsciously and are difficult to prevent. Motion-based games show promise for motivating patients to perform stroke rehabilitation exercises at home by themselves.

Currently, exercises with these games are likely to contain undesired compensatory motions. In this article, we provide the design and empirical evaluation of a motion-based game system that addresses the issue of compensation in therapeutic games. We introduce a technique to identify and measure compensation, develop a game that meaningfully uses exercise and compensation as inputs, and use incentives and disincentives to reduce compensation.