How can we encourage haemophilia patients to carry out more physical activity independently? L’EveryWare Lab of the Department of Computer Science of the State University of Milan, in collaboration with the Angelo Bianchi Bonomi Hemophilia and Thrombosis Center of the Milan Polyclinic, had an intuition: to develop a mobile app called Play4Physio, which allows you to have fun with video games and do physical exercise in the meantime, without leaving home. The rationale? Finding the motivation to train is the first step to developing greater muscle strength, joint stability and increasing bone density, reducing the risk of falls and bleeding.
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Hemophilia and physical activity
Doing physical activity is important for everyone, because it helps keep metabolic and cardiovascular diseases related to a sedentary lifestyle under control, and also brings psychophysical well-being. For a long time, in order to avoid the risk of bleeding, people with haemophilia were advised not to do sports. Hemophilia is, in fact, a genetic disease in which the lack of one of the clotting factors carries the risk of bleeding in the event of trauma. Today, thanks to therapeutic developments, hemophiliacs have a life expectancy similar to the rest of the population and the Health Organization (WHO) strongly recommends that these patients exercise.
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Not one, but infinite games
For years, attempts have been made to use technology in the rehabilitation of haemophilia patients, with increasingly sophisticated instruments available in treatment centres. In Italy, at the Maggiore Hospital in Parma, patients can train on a platform equipped with sensors and cameras to evaluate strength and balance in real time. But being able to have an always accessible system for doing physiotherapy, perhaps from your own living room, can simplify patients’ lives and increase their ability to move around. Play4physio, created with the contribution of Fondazione di Comunità Milano, was born with this very aim.
The principle of Play4physio is based on the so-called exergameunion of English words exercise e game: video games controlled with body movements. The researchers at the Easyware laboratory decided not to produce a single game, which could bore patients over time, but to create software that could control all the games already present on platforms, such as the Google Play Store. Thanks to the camera of the mobile phone or tablet, the movements that the patient makes are recognized and transformed into a command of the game. For example, the patient, by raising his arms, legs or doing squats, will be able to make Super Mario run and jump on some adventure.
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How does it work
Before starting Play4physio, there is a meeting between the physiotherapist and the patient to decide which games and exercises to do. This means that there will be complete customization based on the medical needs, age and tastes of each individual person. During this meeting, a video is recorded of the patient performing the correct movements under the supervision of the physiotherapist, and this will be the basis for associating the game commands with the gestures. In this way, when the patient is alone, in order to play (and train) he will have to carry out the exercises correctly, independently. In the future, the creators of Play4physio do not exclude that a similar approach could also be used in other pathologies or to encourage physical activity in older people.