Effects of Gamification in BCI Functional Rehabilitation.

Martí De Castro-Cros,Dani Tost,Rupert Ortner,Eloy Opisso,Christoph Guger,Marc Sebastian-Romagosa,Manel Ochoa,Javier Rodríguez-Serrano

doi:10.3389/fnins.2020.00882

Abstract

ObjectiveTo evaluate whether introducing gamification in BCI rehabilitation of the upper limbs of post-stroke patients has a positive impact on their experience without altering their efficacy in creating motor mental images (MI).DesignA game was designed purposely adapted to the pace and goals of an established BCI-rehabilitation protocol. Rehabilitation was based on a double feedback: functional electrostimulation and animation of a virtual avatar of the patient’s limbs. The game introduced a narrative on top of this visual feedback with an external goal to achieve (protecting bits of cheese from a rat character). A pilot study was performed with 10 patients and a control group of six volunteers. Two rehabilitation sessions were done, each made up of one stage of calibration and two training stages, some stages with the game and others without. The accuracy of the classification computed was taken as a measure to compare the efficacy of MI. Users’ opinions were gathered through a questionnaire. No potentially identifiable human images or data are presented in this study.ResultsThe gamified rehabilitation presented in the pilot study does not impact on the efficacy of MI, but it improves users experience making it more fun.ConclusionThese preliminary results are encouraging to continue investigating how game narratives can be introduced in BCI rehabilitation to make it more gratifying and engaging.

Highlights

Stroke is a leading cause of severe physical disability
We present a preliminary experimental study on gamified BCI post-stroke functional rehabilitation of the upper limbs
Six healthy subjects and ten stroke patients were enrolled in the study, seven of them were females and nine males

Summary

Introduction

Stroke is a leading cause of severe physical disability. According to the World Health Organization, 15 million people suffer from stroke worldwide each year, five million of them die, and five million are permanently disabled (Donkor, 2018). Impairments in the upper limbs affect 60% of stroke survivors. Rehabilitation of these patients is key to improve patients’ capabilities of realizing daily life activities and, to improve their independence and quality of life (Pindus et al, 2018). The Mental Imagery Brain Computer Interface (MI-BCI) has emerged as a cost-effective, non-invasive rehabilitation technology, specially indicated for patients with a low range of motor motion, having fatigue, or pain (van Dokkum et al, 2015; Remsik et al, 2016; Cervera et al, 2018)

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion