Guimarães Vânia, Sousa Inês, de Bruin Eling D, Pais Joana, Correia Miguel Velhote
Fraunhofer Portugal AICOS, Porto, Portugal.
Faculty of Engineering, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Digit Health. 2023 Mar 28;9:20552076231167001. doi: 10.1177/20552076231167001. eCollection 2023 Jan-Dec.
Stepping exergames designed to stimulate physical and cognitive skills can provide important information concerning individuals' performance. In this study, we investigated the potential of stepping and gameplay metrics to assess the motor-cognitive status of older adults.
Stepping and gameplay metrics were recorded in a longitudinal study involving 13 older adults with mobility limitations. Game parameters included games' scores and reaction times. Stepping parameters included length, height, speed, and duration, measured by inertial sensors placed on the shoes while interacting with the exergames. Parameters measured on the first gameplay were correlated against standard cognitive and mobility assessments, including the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), gait speed, and the Short Physical Performance Battery. Based on MoCA scores, patients were then stratified into two groups: cognitively impaired and healthy controls. The differences between the two groups were visually inspected, considering their within-game progression over the training period.
Stepping and gameplay metrics had moderate-to-strong correlations with cognitive and mobility performance indicators: faster, longer, and higher steps were associated with better mobility scores; better cognitive games' scores and reaction times, and longer and faster steps were associated with better cognitive performance. The preliminary visual analysis revealed that the group with cognitive impairment required more time to advance to the next difficulty level, also presenting slower reaction times and stepping speeds when compared to the healthy control group.
Stepping exergames may be useful for assessing the cognitive and motor status of older adults, potentially allowing assessments to be more frequent, affordable, and enjoyable. Further research is required to confirm results in the long term using a larger and more diverse sample.
旨在刺激身体和认知技能的踏步类运动游戏能够提供有关个体表现的重要信息。在本研究中，我们调查了踏步和游戏玩法指标评估老年人运动认知状态的潜力。
在一项纵向研究中记录了13名行动不便的老年人的踏步和游戏玩法指标。游戏参数包括游戏得分和反应时间。踏步参数包括步长、步高、步速和持续时间，通过与运动游戏互动时放置在鞋子上的惯性传感器进行测量。在首次游戏玩法中测量的参数与标准认知和运动评估相关，包括蒙特利尔认知评估（MoCA）、步速和简短体能测试。然后根据MoCA得分将患者分为两组：认知障碍组和健康对照组。考虑到他们在训练期间的游戏内进展，对两组之间的差异进行了直观检查。
踏步和游戏玩法指标与认知和运动表现指标具有中度到强的相关性：更快、更长和更高的步幅与更好的运动得分相关；更好的认知游戏得分和反应时间，以及更长和更快的步幅与更好的认知表现相关。初步的直观分析表明，与健康对照组相比，认知障碍组进入下一个难度级别需要更多时间，反应时间和踏步速度也更慢。
踏步类运动游戏可能有助于评估老年人的认知和运动状态，有可能使评估更加频繁、经济实惠且有趣。需要进一步研究以使用更大、更多样化的样本长期确认结果。
