Study tests wii-style aphasia treatment

Researchers are looking at whether motion sensing technologies, such as those used by the Nintendo Wii, could be used in the rehabilitation of people with aphasia.

At team at City University London is looking for an affordable, computer-based technology to help stroke patients learn how to 'gesture' independently at home.  

Aphasia is a language impairment that is often caused by a stroke that affects around 250,000 people in the UK.

Gestures that can be readily interpreted by others are often advocated in aphasia treatment, but can be difficult for aphasic people to learn because they have additional stroke-related disabilities, such as one sided paralysis.

Gesturing can be improved through therapy, but one-to-one sessions can be costly and therapy resources are scarce.

The project will create a prototype system that enables users to practise gesturing, receive instant feedback, and master the movements through repetition.

It will be run by a multi-disciplinary team from City's Centre for Human-Computer Interaction Design (HCID), and Department of Language and Communication Science.

The project has support from the Stoke Association and £300k from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

"Gesture tracking and recognition technologies are becoming a ubiquitous part of new computing and gaming environments," said Stephanie Wilson, senior lecturer in HCID at City University.  

"These range from Apple's touchscreen iPad through the handheld Nintendo Wii Remote to Microsoft's forthcoming Kinect for the Xbox 360, which will track users’ movements without the need for a handheld controller.

"Whilst popular in gaming, we will evaluate the suitability of such technologies in aphasia rehabilitation.”

Jane Marshall, professor of aphasiology at City University, adds: "Computer-based treatments have been shown to improve verbal language skills in previous studies, but this is the first time that gestures will be addressed.

"With 45,000 new cases in the UK each year, we hope that our work will help a wider range of aphasic people to regain communication skills."

The project – known as Gesture Recognition in Aphasia Therapy (GReAT) – will run for 18 months. It plans to test the prototype via 30 of the Stroke Association’s Stroke Clubs in the London area.

Volunteers will use the system, explore its capabilities and report back to the project team, while workshops for aphasia therapists will explain how the system works and its potential benefits.

People with aphasia will also be employed as consultants during the development of the technology, to ensure that it is fit for purpose.