Department of Life, Health and Environmental Sciences, University of L'Aquila, Via Vetoio, 67100 L'Aquila, Italy.
Comput Methods Programs Biomed. 2013 Jun;110(3):490-502. doi: 10.1016/j.cmpb.2013.01.009. Epub 2013 Feb 8.
Rehabilitation is often required after stroke, surgery, or degenerative diseases. It has to be specific for each patient and can be easily calibrated if assisted by human-computer interfaces and virtual reality. Recognition and tracking of different human body landmarks represent the basic features for the design of the next generation of human-computer interfaces. The most advanced systems for capturing human gestures are focused on vision-based techniques which, on the one hand, may require compromises from real-time and spatial precision and, on the other hand, ensure natural interaction experience. The integration of vision-based interfaces with thematic virtual environments encourages the development of novel applications and services regarding rehabilitation activities. The algorithmic processes involved during gesture recognition activity, as well as the characteristics of the virtual environments, can be developed with different levels of accuracy. This paper describes the architectural aspects of a framework supporting real-time vision-based gesture recognition and virtual environments for fast prototyping of customized exercises for rehabilitation purposes. The goal is to provide the therapist with a tool for fast implementation and modification of specific rehabilitation exercises for specific patients, during functional recovery. Pilot examples of designed applications and preliminary system evaluation are reported and discussed.
康复通常是在中风、手术或退行性疾病后进行的。它必须针对每个患者进行个性化定制，如果辅助以人机界面和虚拟现实，就可以轻松地进行校准。识别和跟踪不同的人体地标是设计下一代人机界面的基本特征。用于捕获人体手势的最先进系统专注于基于视觉的技术，这些技术一方面可能需要在实时性和空间精度方面做出妥协，另一方面又能确保自然的交互体验。将基于视觉的界面与主题虚拟环境集成，可促进康复活动相关的新型应用和服务的发展。在手势识别活动中涉及的算法过程以及虚拟环境的特征，可以以不同的精度级别进行开发。本文描述了一个支持实时基于视觉的手势识别和虚拟环境的框架的体系结构方面，该框架用于快速为康复目的定制练习进行原型设计。目标是为治疗师提供一种工具，以便在功能恢复期间为特定患者快速实施和修改特定的康复练习。报告并讨论了设计应用程序的示例和初步系统评估。
