Health in Motion- Interactive Exercises for Safer Mobility

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant The Objective of this SBIR Phase II project is to complete the translation of a well established evidence based falls prevention program into a low cost easily accessed personalized falls prevention software program Health In Motion will be an interactive guided exercise program using innovative motion controlled technology for delivery on a personal computer The death rate due to falls has increased over the past decade and the total annual cost of injurious falls is projected to be over $ billion by Exercise programs specifically designed to improve balance and strength can decrease the rate of falls by potentially saving the health care system $ billion annually Unfortunately the dissemination of these programs is limited by personnel costs and often requires traveling to community centers for training by an experienced instructor Video game technology can provide a solution There is unprecedented interest by older adults in playing gesture controlled games creating an untapped and viable market to deliver a public health intervention Innovation We will translate established evidence based falls prevention programs into interactive digital activities for mass dissemination The final product will deliver a validated balance screening test progress a user through an individualized exercise program designed to improve balance deliver data on performance for users and providers through a dynamic Web UI challenge to cognitive reserve offer social support and educate users about fall prevention Usersandapos movements are identified recognized and tracked with an innovative D motion capture sensor Kinect for Windows v Strategy The Health In Motion will digitize reliable and validated fall prevention programs Otago Exercise Program and Tai Chi into an interactive software application for mass distribution and home use This application is tailored specifically for the health and safety needs of older adult users Methods A trans disciplinary agile user centered design approach will be applied in the remainder of the development of this product Subject matter experts older adults caregivers clinicians will continue to participate in the development process to insure Health In Motion meets their needs We will complete a pilot outcome study to test the hypotheses that users will prefer Health In Motion over standard programs users will engage more frequently and perform better on falls risk measures after one month of training with Health In Motion and that the balance screens will positively correlate with standard clinical tests PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE According to the NCOA every seconds a senior is treated in the emergency department for a fall related injury and every minutes a senior dies from a fall The objective of this Phase II project is to continue developing and testing a personalized scalable expandable sustainable and multi component digital fall prevention program that are easily disseminated internationally to adults over We will expand on the previous Phase by adding more exercises more engaging activities cognitive challenges and a guided only mode We will upgrade to the new Kinect for Windows v hardware and upgrade the current data viewer to a dynamic Web UI for clinicians and other service providers to track user status