Backtrainer. Computer-aided therapy system with augmented feedback for the lower back

Low back pain is an important problem in industrialized countries. Two key factors limit the effectiveness of physiotherapy: low compliance of patients with repetitive movement exercises, and inadequate awareness of patients of their own posture. The Backtrainer system addresses these problems by real-time monitoring of the spine position, by providing a framework for most common physiotherapy exercises for the low back, and by providing feedback to patients in a motivating way. A minimal sensor configuration was identified as two inertial sensors that measure the orientation of the lower back at two points with three degrees of freedom. The software was designed as a flexible platform to experiment with different hardware, and with various feedback modalities. Basic exercises for two types of movements are provided: mobilizing and stabilizing. We developed visual feedback - abstract as well as in the form of a virtual reality game - and complemented the on-screen graphics with an ambient feedback device. The system was evaluated during five weeks in a rehabilitation clinic with 26 patients and 15 physiotherapists. Subjective satisfaction of subjects was good, and we interpret the results as encouraging indication for the adoption of such a therapy support system by both patients and therapists.

Keywords

Back pain, Physiotherapy, Computer-aided therapy, Augmented feedback, Ambient visualization

Subject (DDC)

600 - Technik, Medizin, angewandte Wissenschaften

Project

Event

HEALTHINF 2009 International Conference on Health Informatics

Exhibition start date

Exhibition end date

Conference start date

14.01.2009

Conference end date

17.01.2009

Date of the last check

ISBN

978-989-8111-63-0

ISSN

Language

English

Created during FHNW affiliation

Yes

Strategic action fields FHNW

Publication status

Published

Review

Peer review of the complete publication

Open access category

Green

License

Citation

Brodbeck, D., Degen, M., Stanimirov, M., Kool, J., Scheermesser, M., Oesch, P., & Neuhaus, C. (2009). Backtrainer. Computer-aided therapy system with augmented feedback for the lower back. In L. Azevedo & A. Londral (Eds.), Proceedings of the International Conference on Health Informatics BIOSTEC (pp. 66–73). SciTePress. https://doi.org/10.5220/0001550400660073

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