Isabel Röttger

Advisors
Eva Dorschky (M.Sc.), Dr.-Ing. Felix Kluge, Prof. Dr. Anne Koelewijn, Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Sigrid Leyendecker, Prof. Dr. med. Clemens Becker

Duration
04 / 2022 – 10 / 2022

Abstract
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) is a pre-condition to Alzheimer’s disease, where a person already experiences cognitive decline but not severe enough for the clinical diagnosis of Alzheimers. Currently, no treatment options are available, and MCI patients have a larger risk of developing dementia caused by Alzheimer’s disease. However, it is known that regular physical exercise and physical stimulation can be beneficial for MCI patients [1]. Previous work has shown advantages of exergames in preventing cognitive decline [2].

Recently, we have developed a first prototype of an exergame for this patient group. This game combines physical exercise and cognitive stimulation, and can, once fully developed, be played in the patient’s home environment. The developed game, called the MokoTrainer, is operated using inertial measurement units (IMUs) that are worn on the wrists and shoes of the user. During the game, the user walks through the game environment by stepping, and perform dierent tasks, such as rotating and picking up objects.

This thesis aims to validate and assess the quality of the IMU motion sensing of this exergame against the state-of-the-art and a golden standard. Therefore, an experiment will be performed where (elderly) participants play the game, while their motion is recorded using the game sensors, a kinect, which is used by the state-of-the-art, and optical motion capture, the golden standard. The goal is to compare the motion detection algorithms against the state-of-the-art, and to investigate if, on top of this, quantative measures of the motion can be recorded to track the user’s health state.

References
[1] Mayo Clinic: Mild cognitive impairment (MCI). https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/mild-cognitive-impairment/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20354583, retrieved on 16.03.2020
[2] Anderson-Hanley, C, Arciero PJ, et al. Exergaming and older adult cognition: a cluster randomized clinical trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2012.