Cognitive intervention protocol for age-related memory impairments

With the number of elderly people increasing tremendously worldwide, comes the need for effective methods to maintain or improve older adults' cognitive performance. Using continuous neurofeedback, through the use of EEG techniques, people can learn how to train and alter their brain electrical activity. A software platform that puts together the proposed rehabilitation methodology has been developed: a digital game protocol that supports neurofeedback training of alpha and theta rhythms, by reading the EEG activity and presenting it back to the subject, interleaved with neurocognitive tasks such as n-Back and Corsi Block-Tapping. This tool will be used as a potential rehabilitative platform for age-related memory impairments.

Real-time hand tracking for rehabilitation and character animation

Hand and finger tracking has a major importance in healthcare, for rehabilitation of hand function required due to a neurological disorder, and in virtual environment applications, like characters animation for on-line games or movies. Current solutions consist mostly of motion tracking gloves with embedded resistive bend sensors that most often suffer from signal drift, sensor saturation, sensor displacement and complex calibration procedures. More advanced solutions provide better tracking stability, but at the expense of a higher cost. The proposed solution aims to provide the required precision, stability and feasibility through the combination of eleven inertial measurements units (IMUs). Each unit captures the spatial orientation of the attached body. To fully capture the hand movement, each finger encompasses two units (at the proximal and distal phalanges), plus one unit at the back of the hand. The proposed glove was validated in two distinct steps: a) evaluation of the sensors’ accuracy and stability over time; b) evaluation of the bending trajectories during usual finger flexion tasks based on the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Results revealed that the glove was sensitive mainly to magnetic field distortions and sensors tuning. The inclusion of a hard and soft iron correction algorithm and accelerometer and gyro drift and temperature compensation methods provided increased stability and precision. Finger trajectories evaluation yielded high ICC values with an overall reliability within application’s satisfying limits. The developed low cost system provides a straightforward calibration and usability, qualifying the device for hand and finger tracking in healthcare and animation industries.