Sharon StansfieldAssociate Professor |
Project Title:
Development of a Virtual Reality Computer Game to Complement Occupational Therapy for Children with Cerebral Palsy
Participating Students:
Participating Professor:
General Project Description:
The goal of our project is to design and implement a Virtual Reality (VR) computer game which complements occupational therapy (OT) of children aged five to seven suffering from Cerebral Palsy (CP). CP is a neurological condition caused by abnormalities in parts of the brain that control muscle movements. While there is no cure for CP, occupation therapy can improve a child's lifestyle. “Many children go on to enjoy near-normal adult lives if their disabilities are properly managed. In general, the earlier treatment begins the better chance children have of overcoming developmental disabilities or learning new ways to accomplish the tasks that challenge them.”[1] Occupational therapy can be boring, frustrating, and painful for children. We feel that use of a VR game will better motivate children to participate in and enjoy therapy. Our game will require players to move their arms in motions similar to those encouraged by occupational therapists. It will combine the fun and excitement of a game with the benefits of OT.
Previous research projects have been completed in this field.[4] Our project will be a continuation of one such previous project.[3] It will be different than the previous project because we will be using new software, and targeting a more specific age group. The software we will be using is called 3D GameStudio, and uses C++ for game creation; both students have experience working in C++. We will be consulting with Professor Carole Dennis for all of the occupational therapy aspects of our project. We will benefit from the experience of Carole and Sharon (our faculty advisor) who both worked on the first phase of the project. Ithaca College owns a variety of VR equipment; we will have access to the equipment necessary for our project. The equipment that we will be using includes position trackers and head-mounted displays.
The focus of this project is on the design and implementation of the game. We will conduct background research to discover the specific movements that our game should motivate. Through our collaborations with experienced experts, these goals are well within our reach. We will work on our project throughout the entire 2007-2008 academic year. At the end of the term, we plan to prepare a poster paper and submit it to the Ithaca College Whalen Symposium as well as to another applicable conference. If our poster is accepted at a conference, we will apply to Ithaca College to receive additional funding for the traveling expenses and conference fees. While not a part of this proposal, we hope to continue this project in the future by testing the program on children with CP.
Specific Questions/Hypotheses to be Addressed:
Can virtual reality based computer games be used to complement occupational therapy of children with motor disabilities?
Methods to be Utilized:
Background Research on:
Develop the game program using these steps:
References:
[1] “Cerebral Palsy Information Page.” Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 16 Apr. 2007. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. 3 May 2007 <http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/cerebral_palsy/cerebral_palsy.htm>.
[2] Duggan, Michael. The Official Guide to 3D GameStudio. N.p.: Thomson Delmar Learning, 2007.
[3] Stansfield, Sharon, Carole Dennis, and Evan Suma. “Emotional and Performance Attributes of a VR Game: A Study of Children.” Medicine Meets Virtual Reality (Jan. 2005): 515-518.
[4] You, Sung H, et al. “Cortical Reorganization Induced by Virtual Reality Therapy in a Child with Hemiparetic Cerebral Palsy.” Developmental Medicine & Child Neurology 47 (2005): 628–635.
CREU Progress Journal