Gamification Smartphone Application for Leg Physical Therapy

Abstract

The need to treat illnesses or deterioration of the legs caused by accidents, rheumatism, muscular weakness, paralysis or bone diseases has increased. Paraplegic patients need physical therapy to mitigate their condition. This study developed a gamification smartphone application for leg physical therapy. The application was implemented for patients using Android Operating System smartphones. The smartphone was attached to the walking support equipment. The accelerometer sensor of the smartphone was utilized to measure distance, time, and number of steps. The application acquired data from the sensor, and processed and stored the data in a server, to enable assessment of critical conditions. Moreover, this system would report the evaluation of physical therapy on a weekly basis. Alerts of physiotherapy treatment could be set in this application. The advantages of the application include increasing the patient’s motivation for the therapy, performed by themselves at home, and the results could be used for planning treatments by a physician.