Kinect system in home-based cardiovascular rehabilitation

Abstract

Cardiovascular diseases lead to a high consumption of financial resources. An important part of the recovery process is the cardiovascular rehabilitation. This study aimed to present a new cardiovascular rehabilitation system to 11 outpatients with coronary artery disease from a Hospital in Porto, Portugal, later collecting their opinions. This system is based on a virtual reality game system, using the Kinect sensor while performing an exercise protocol which is integrated in a home-based cardiovascular rehabilitation programme, with a duration of 6 months and at the maintenance phase. The participants responded to a questionnaire asking for their opinion about the system. The results demonstrated that 91% of the participants (n = 10) enjoyed the artwork, while 100% (n = 11) agreed on the importance and usefulness of the automatic counting of the number of repetitions, moreover 64% (n = 7) reported motivation to continue performing the programme after the end of the study, and 100% (n = 11) recognized Kinect as an instrument with potential to be an asset in cardiovascular rehabilitation. Criticisms included limitations in motion capture and gesture recognition, 91% (n = 10), and the lack of home space, 27% (n = 3). According to the participants' opinions, the Kinect has the potential to be used in cardiovascular rehabilitation; however, several technical details require improvement, particularly regarding the motion capture and gesture recognition.

Virtual reality exercise on a home-based phase III cardiac rehabilitation program, effect on executive function, quality of life and depression, anxiety and stress: a randomized controlled trial

“…This study is part of a global project and, in the same, presented a similar methodology to that previously published in Vieira et al [21,22], duly referenced throughout the present study.…”

“…According to Vieira et al [21,22], the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the [21,22], all procedures were conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki and, according to Vieira et al [22], the study is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02753829).…”

“…According to Vieira et al [21,22], the sample was obtained from the Centro Hospitalar do Porto. According to Vieira et al [21,22], the target population was composed of subjects who had just completed the phase II of CR at the Cardiovascular Prevention and Rehabilitation Unit. The subjects were, by the research coordinator at the end of the phase II, in-person and, according to Vieira et al [22], individually invited to participate in this study.…”

“…The subjects were, by the research coordinator at the end of the phase II, in-person and, according to Vieira et al [22], individually invited to participate in this study. According to Vieira et al [22], the enrolment and assignment were conducted by the research coordinator, with the support of the responsible of the Unit, according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Table 1) according to Vieira et al [21,22].…”

“…According to Vieira et al [21,22] throughout the follow-up, four subjects were excluded from IG1 and, according to Vieira et al [22], from IG2, and five from CG. Therefore, according to Vieira et al [22], the final sample was composed of 33 subjects: IG1 n ¼ 11, IG2 n ¼ 11 and CG n ¼ 11.…”