Characteristics, Usability, and Users Experience of a System Combining Cognitive and Physical Therapy in a Virtual Environment: Positive Bike

Elisa Pedroli; Luca Greci; Desirèe Colombo; Silvia Serino; Pietro Cipresso; Sara Arlati; Marta Mondellini; Lorenzo Boilini; Valentina Giussani; Karine Goulene; Monica Agostoni; Marco Sacco; Marco Stramba-Badiale; Giuseppe Riva; Andrea Gaggioli

doi:10.3390/s18072343

Characteristics, Usability, and Users Experience of a System Combining Cognitive and Physical Therapy in a Virtual Environment: Positive Bike

Sensors ◽

10.3390/s18072343 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (7) ◽

pp. 2343 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

Elisa Pedroli ◽

Luca Greci ◽

Desirèe Colombo ◽

Silvia Serino ◽

Pietro Cipresso ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Elderly Patients ◽

Evaluation Study ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Flow State ◽

Virtual Reality System ◽

Domain Experts ◽

System Usability Scale ◽

System Usability ◽

State Scale

We present the architecture and usability evaluation of virtual reality system—“Positive Bike”—designed for improving cognitive and motor conditions in frail elderly patients. The system consists of a cycle-ergometer integrated in an immersive virtual reality system (CAVE) which allows combining motor and cognitive exercises according to a “dual-task” paradigm. We tested the usability and user’s experience of the prototype in a pilot evaluation study that involved five elderly patients. The prototype was tested in one-session training to understand the limitations and areas for improvement of our system. The evaluation consisted in (i) usability assessment using the system usability scale; (ii) evaluation of user’s engagement using the flow state scale; and (iii) expert evaluation involving interviews with domain experts. Results showed a good usability, both for system usability scale and the semi-structured interview. The level of flow (i.e., enjoyment with the task at hand) measured using the short flow state scale, was also high. Analysis of semi-structured interview carried out with domain experts provided further indications to improve the system. Overall, these findings show that, despite some limitations, the system is usable and provides an enjoyable user’s experience.

Download Full-text

Design and Development of a Virtual Reality-Based Mobility Training Game for People With Parkinson's Disease

Frontiers in Neurology ◽

10.3389/fneur.2020.577713 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

James M. Finley ◽

Marientina Gotsis ◽

Vangelis Lympouridis ◽

Shreya Jain ◽

Aram Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Parkinson’S Disease ◽

Parkinson's Disease ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

Physical Therapists ◽

Physical Therapist ◽

Training System ◽

Training Experience ◽

Sense Of Presence ◽

System Usability Scale ◽

System Usability

People with Parkinson's disease (PD) commonly have gait impairments that reduce their ability to walk safely in the community. These impairments are characterized, in part, by a compromised ability to turn and negotiate both predictable and unpredictable environments. Here, we describe the development and usability assessment of a virtual reality training application, Wordplay VR, that allows people with PD to practice skills such as turning, obstacle avoidance, and problem-solving during over-ground walking in a game-based setting. Nine people with PD completed three sessions with Wordplay VR, and each session was directed by their personal physical therapist. Our outcome measures included perceived sense of presence measured using the International Test Commission–Sense of Presence Inventory (ITC-SOPI), levels of motivation using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), overall system usability using the System Usability Scale (SUS), and setup time by the physical therapists. Both the people with PD and the physical therapists rated their sense of presence in the training system positively. The system received high ratings on the interest and value subscales of the IMI, and the system was also rated highly on usability, from the perspective of both the patient during gameplay and the therapist while controlling the experience. These preliminary results suggest that the application and task design yielded an experience that was motivating and user-friendly for both groups. Lastly, with repeated practice over multiple sessions, therapists were able to reduce the time required to help their patients don the headset and sensors and begin the training experience.

Download Full-text

Time Flies: Investigating Duration Judgments in Virtual Reality

Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society Annual Meeting ◽

10.1177/1541931218621403 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 62 (1) ◽

pp. 1777-1781

Author(s):

William G. Volante ◽

Jessica Cruit ◽

James Tice ◽

William Shugars ◽

Peter A. Hancock

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Pilot Study ◽

Virtual Environments ◽

Time Perception ◽

Flow State ◽

Pilot Studies ◽

The Relationship ◽

Insight Into ◽

State Scale ◽

Virtual Game

Virtual reality is becoming increasingly popular in today’s society. With this proliferation it becomes even more important to study the effects such environments may have on one’s perception of reality. Two pilot studies were run in order to provide insight into the relationship between time perception and flow in a virtual environment. In Experiment 1 participants played a music-oriented virtual game for 2 minutes. In Experiment 2 participants played a space-shooter virtual game for 5 minutes. Duration Judgment Ratio (DJR) and Flow State Scale (FSS-2) measures were taken and compared to one another. Though a relationship between DJR and Flow was not found in each experiment individually, insights gained from the comparison of the two experiments may provide additional understandings. The results of this pilot study could aid researchers in developing objective ways to measure components of flow especially with respect to virtual environments. Additional insights and applications are discussed.

Download Full-text

Cognitive Testing of an Electronic Consent Platform: Researcher Perspectives

10.3233/shti210772 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Daniel Robins ◽

Rachel Brody ◽

Irena Parvanova ◽

Joseph Finkelstein

Keyword(s):

Qualitative Interview ◽

Cognitive Testing ◽

Valuable Insight ◽

Patient Understanding ◽

Domain Experts ◽

Expert Review ◽

System Usability Scale ◽

Job Titles ◽

System Usability ◽

The Mean

This study focuses on feedback from domain experts to assess usability and acceptance of the E-Consent electronic consent platform. Quantitative and qualitative data were captured throughout the usability inspection, which was structured around a cognitive walkthrough with heuristics evaluation. Additional surveys measured biobanking knowledge and attitudes and familiarity with informed consent. A semi-structured qualitative interview captured open-ended feedback. 23 researchers of various ages and job titles were included for analysis. The System Usability Scale (SUS) provided a standardized reference for usability and satisfaction, and the mean result of 86.7 corresponds with an ‘above average’ usability rating in the >90th percentile. Overall, participants believe that electronic consenting using this platform will be faster than previous workflows while enhancing patient understanding, and human rapport is still a key component of the consent process. Expert review has provided valuable insight and actionable information that will be used to further enhance this maturing platform.

Download Full-text

Songverse: a music-loop authoring tool based on Virtual Reality

Journal of Interactive Systems ◽

10.5753/jis.2020.749 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. 57-65

Author(s):

Willams De Lima Costa ◽

Daniel Filgueira ◽

Luca Ananias ◽

Ricardo Barioni ◽

Lucas Silva Figueiredo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Outer Space ◽

Musical Instruments ◽

Development Phase ◽

System Usability Scale ◽

Musical Concepts ◽

System Usability ◽

Potential Synergy ◽

Planets And Satellites ◽

Spatial Interfaces

We can define Digital Musical Instruments (DMIs) as hardware-software solutions that are interactive and crafted to output sound according to users' input. DMIs are well known to unleash users' creativity but also to allow different and innovative experiences for the creation process, for example, smoothing the learning curve towards musical concepts such as rhythm and composition. On the other hand, Virtual Reality (VR) allows users to explore spatial interfaces in a natural and limitless way, which shows potential synergy towards the rise of new DMIs. In this paper, we introduce Songverse, an immersive DMI placed in a Virtual Reality scenario that allows users to create music by interacting with an environment designed to resemble the outer space. By adding systems, planets, and satellites to the virtual environment, the user can shape the produced sound through interactions that were extensively tested during the development phase. We then evaluated the instrument with musicians and non-musicians by interviewing and applying the System Usability Scale (SUS) to assess the easiness for people to create music using Songverse. As a result, users reported the use of the DMI as intuitive and easy to use, also highlighting the produced song as enjoyable.

Download Full-text

Abstract 059: Developing a Mobile Application for Cardiac Rehabilitation

Circulation Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes ◽

10.1161/circoutcomes.10.suppl_3.059 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (suppl_3) ◽

Author(s):

Alexis L Beatty ◽

John C Fortney ◽

P M Ho ◽

George G Sayre ◽

Mary A Whooley

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Cardiac Rehabilitation ◽

Mobile Application ◽

Usability Testing ◽

Structured Interview ◽

Task Completion ◽

On Demand ◽

System Usability Scale ◽

System Usability ◽

New Strategies

Introduction: Cardiac rehabilitation improves outcomes for patients with ischemic heart disease or heart failure, but is underused. New strategies to improve delivery of cardiac rehabilitation are needed. We developed a mobile application for technology-facilitated home cardiac rehabilitation and sought to determine its usability. Methods: We recruited patients eligible for cardiac rehabilitation who had access to a smartphone, tablet, or computer with internet access to participate in usability testing of the mobile application. The mobile application includes physical activity goal setting, logs for physical activity and health measures, health education, reminders, and feedback (Figure). Participants were introduced to the mobile application and then observed while completing pre-specified tasks with the mobile application. Participants completed the System Usability Scale (0-100), rated likelihood to use the mobile application (0-100), and participated in a semi-structured interview. Based on participant feedback, we made iterative revisions to the mobile application. Results: We conducted usability testing in 13 participants. The first version of the mobile application was used by the first 5 participants, and revised versions were used by the final 8 participants. From the first version to revised versions, task completion success rate improved from 44% to 78% (p=0.05), System Usability Scale improved from 54% to 76% (p=0.04), and rated likelihood of using the mobile application remained high at 76% and 87% (p = 0.30). Interview responses revealed a need for introductory training ( “Initially, training with a technical person, instead of me relying on myself”) and on-demand help (“ If I had problems I’d try to find out how to fix it on this or call you” ). Additionally, many participants were interested in sharing data with providers (“ I can show my doctor what I’ve been working on ”). Conclusions: With participant feedback and iterative revisions, we significantly improved the usability of a mobile application for cardiac rehabilitation. Patient expectations for using a mobile application for cardiac rehabilitation include introductory training, on-demand help, and sharing data with providers. Iterative mixed-method evaluation may be useful for improving the usability of health technology.

Download Full-text

VR Locomotion in the New Era of Virtual Reality: An Empirical Comparison of Prevalent Techniques

Advances in Human-Computer Interaction ◽

10.1155/2019/7420781 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 17

Author(s):

Costas Boletsis ◽

Jarl Erik Cedergren

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Empirical Evaluation ◽

Evaluation Study ◽

Ease Of Use ◽

Semistructured Interview ◽

New Techniques ◽

New Era ◽

System Usability Scale ◽

Future Direction ◽

Experience Questionnaire

The latest technical and interaction advancements within the virtual reality (VR) field have marked a new era, not only for VR, but also for VR locomotion. In this era, well-established, prevalent VR locomotion techniques are mostly used as points of comparison for benchmarking of new VR locomotion designs. At the same time, there is the need for more exploratory, comparative studies of contemporary VR locomotion techniques, so that their distinguished interaction aspects can be documented and guide the design process of new techniques. This article presents a comparative, empirical evaluation study of contemporary and prevalent VR locomotion techniques, examining the user experience (UX) they offer. First, the prevalent VR locomotion techniques are identified based on literature, i.e., walking-in-place, controller/joystick, and teleportation. Twenty-six adults are enrolled in the study and perform a game-like task using the techniques. The study follows a mixed methods approach, utilising the System Usability Scale survey, the Game Experience Questionnaire, and a semistructured interview to assess user experiences. Results indicate that the walking-in-place technique offers the highest immersion but also presents high levels of psychophysical discomfort. Controller/joystick VR locomotion is perceived as easy-to-use due to the users’ familiarity with controllers, whereas teleportation is considered to be effective due to its fast navigation, although its visual ‘jumps’ do break the users’ sense of immersion. Based on the interviews, the users focused on the following interaction dimensions to describe their VR locomotion experiences: (i) immersion and flow, (ii) ease-of-use and mastering, (iii) competence and sense of effectiveness, and (iv) psychophysical discomfort. The study implications for VR locomotion are discussed, along with the study limitations and the future direction for research.

Download Full-text