Rehabnect – Infusing the Shoulder Abduction Rehabilitation Exercise with Ludic Elements

Abstract

This paper details the development and evaluation of our rehabilitation game prototype Rehabnect. Rehabnect was created in collaboration with Nordsjællands Hospital in Denmark as a small-scale project that should investigate the possible benefits from infusing the shoulder abduction rehabilitation exercise with ludic elements. Based on interviews and domain-studies, two mini-games were designed around the shoulder abduction exercise and implemented using the Microsoft Kinect motion control sensor. Rehabnect was then evaluated with a small group of test patients, who participated in interviews and user testing sessions. The interviews revealed that most test participants found to a degree motivational benefits from utilizing Rehabnect. However, the test circunstances prohibited us from making any overall or general conclusions at this juncture. Nevertheless, we do feel that our design process and the game design resulting from said process may be helpful to other designers wishing to undertake similar projects.