Efficacy Before Novelty: Establishing Design Guidelines in Interactive Gaming for Rehabilitation and Training

Interactive gaming has demonstrated promise as a low-cost, at-home physiotherapy supplement. Gaming systems offer convenience and the ability to provide enhanced reporting and progress data if body measurement information is collected effectively. Current commercially available systems are not necessarily designed for rehabilitation and as a result, the quality of instruction delivery and level of involvement falls short of the needs of patients. This thesis will look at adapting for occlusion and lack of visibility; learning and orientation; and providing feedback in an effort to determine if there is an ideal visual demonstration delivery that maximizes pose understanding and user self-efficacy, determine whether supplementary modalities are important for instruction, and determine if there is an ideal feedback delivery that promotes pose comprehension, confidence and motivation. This information can provide a guideline for designing clear and supportive, interactive training or rehabilitation systems that can engage users, prevent injury and help maintain fitness.