The Development and Evaluation of an Interactive System for Age Related Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation in the Home

This paper describes a series of user studies carried out to investigate the usability, significance, and acceptance of two visualization tools designed to improve the quality of, and adherence to home-based exercise programmes for musculoskeletal rehabilitation. The core functionality of these visualization tools enabled the users to observe the optimal way to perform their exercises via a mannequin, and receive feedback on their own movements through the use of body worn sensors. Before full deployment in the home, two user studies were carried out in the laboratory, and then two in the home with seniors who had recently undergone musculoskeletal rehabilitation using a standard care paper based booklet in the home. Our key findings suggest that by using the visualization tools the participants were able to overcome the major limitations of standard care; and that these tools were considered by the users to be useful in encouraging participation in home exercise.