Home-based training of rhythmic skills with a serious game in Parkinson's disease: Usability and acceptability.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the adherence, usability and acceptance of a rehabilitation protocol with a music-based serious game (SG) and its effect on rhythmic skills in Parkinson disease (PD).

METHODS

Sixteen PD patients with mild cognitive and motor impairments were included (mean [SD] age 65 [7.28] years and Hoehn & Yahr score 2-3). Rehabilitation consisted of a 6-week at-home training program targeting rhythmic skills with a dedicated SG, Rhythm Workers, implemented on a tablet device. Patients were asked to play the game at least 30min, 3 times a week. Two half-day evaluations were conducted before and after rehabilitation. Time played and average game scores were recorded. Suitability was evaluated by a questionnaire inspired by the Suitability Evaluation Questionnaire (SEQ) and rhythmic skills by the Beat Alignment Test from the Battery for the Assessment of Auditory Sensorimotor and Timing Abilities (BAASTA).

RESULTS

Patients played a mean (SD) of 313 (243) min, namely 57.9% of the expected time; the mean game score was 48.8/100 (19.5). The mean SEQ score for 12 patients was 29.2/45 (8.2); suitability was good to excellent for 10 patients. Beat perception reflecting rhythmic skills improved significantly in all but 5 patients.

CONCLUSION

This study showed good to excellent suitability of an SG used on a tablet interface for rhythmic training in PD and the feasibility of this type of training in this population.