Tangible interaction with everyday objects for home­based upper­ limb stroke rehabilitation

The aim of this research is to enable chronic stroke patients (6+ months) who have experienced a mild to moderate stroke to conduct self­directed physical rehabilitation outside the clinical environment. Participants will be interviewed (approx 30 minutes) about their health status, what kind of everyday activities are important to them and what kind of objects they engage with on a regular basis. They will further be provided with a cultural probes kit that they can use for up to two weeks to document activities of daily living that they enjoy taking part in. A cultural probes kit contains a camera and some written instruction on what to photograph. It offers the opportunity to collect data that has a documentary and life­realistic character. In order to determine what kinds of objects stroke survivors use in activities of daily living the method of design ethnography in the form of observations will be used as a third element (one session for approx 3 hours). Observations offer the possibility to gain a deeper understanding of what kind of objects are used by the stroke patients in activities of daily living. Based on the collected information interactive design prototypes are designed that stroke survivors can use in a self-directed way. The participants are asked to give feedback on design prototypes that are based on the constraint­ induced therapy approach and test them to secure usability and efficiency of the devices (approx 30 minutes). The participant information sheet is structured in a way that participants can choose to take part in all the steps or just single ones e.g. the initial interview. The interviews, observation sessions and feedback sessions are run by the primary investigator Mailin Lemke. The primary investigator is an industrial designer with a background in interaction and industrial design and has observed physiotherapist and occupational therapist stroke rehabilitation sessions to understand the processes. Mailin Lemke attended a specific training focusing on constraint-induced therapy (21.02.2016, Auckland provided by Phillip Fay) and how it is applied to gain an understanding of the intervention. Based on those themes just one interactive design prototype will be designed and tested by the participants. Common patterns and themes will be identified through interviews, observations and the use of cultural probes. The interviews are estimated to be completed 2 months after recruitment. The use of the cultural probes will take place immediately after each of interviews. The observations will take place 2-3 months after the interviews. The final usability evaluation will take place after the design prototypes are developed. The final evaluation is scheduled to take place 6 months after the interviews The design prototypes will be designed by the primary investigator Mailin Lemke. The usability evaluation carried out by the participants will assess if the physical design prototype is usable by the participants. Mailin Lemke has experience in interaction and industrial design. An interactive design prototype is a physical object in which different sensors are embedded to deliver components of constraint-induced movement therapy. The object has the size of a household item e.g. a toaster or radio or some other domestic object can be easily carried around. The sensors recognise if the participant uses the affected UE (i.e. the stroke-affected arm) during their interaction with and use of the object. In situations where the participant does not use the affected arm or hand, different forms of motivation are applied to encourage the use of the affected UE. One form of possible motivation might be augmented feedback the playing a voice recording to remind and encourage the user to use the affected UE.