Abstract
Maximal strength testing of different muscle groups is a standard procedure in human physiology experiments. Test subjects have to exert maximum force voluntarily and are verbally encouraged by the investigator. The performance of the subjects is influenced by the verbal encouragement, but the encouragement procedure is not standardized or reproducible. To counter this problem a game-based motivation system prototype is developed to provide instant feedback to the subjects and also incentives to motivate them. The prototype was developed for the Biodex System 3 Isokinetic Dynamometer to improve the peak torque performance in an isometric knee extensor strength examination. Data analysis is performed on torque data from an existing study to understand torque response characteristics of different subjects. The parameters identified in the data analysis are used to design a shark-fish predator-prey game. The game depends on data obtained from the dynamometer in real time. A first evaluation shows that the game rewards and motivates the subject continuously over a repetition to reach the peak torque value. It also shows that the game rewards the user more if he overcomes a baseline torque value within the first second and then gradually increases the torque to reach the peak value.
Keywords
- serious game
- human physiology study
- game based motivation system
- visual encouragement
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Biodex (April 2012), http://www.biodex.com
Physiology Laboratory at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, German Aerospace Center (April 2012), http://www.dlr.de/me
Campenella, B., Mattacola, C.G., Kimura, I.F.: Effect of visual feedback and verbal encouragement on concentric quadriceps and hamstrings peak torque of males and females. Isokinetics and Exercise Science 8, 1–6 (2000)
Jung, M.C., Hallbeck, M.S.: Quantification of the effects of instruction type, verbal encouragement and visual feedback on static and peak handgrip strength. International Journal of Industrial Ergonomics 34, 367–374 (2004)
Hald, R.D., Bottjen, E.J.: Effect of Visual Feedback on Maximal and Submaximal lsokinetic Test Measurements of Normal Quadriceps and Hamstrings. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy (1987)
Andreacci, J.L., Lemura, L.M., Cohen, S.L., Urbansky, E.A., Chelland, S.A., von Duvillard, S.P.: The effects of frequency of encouragement on performance during maximal exercise testing. Journal of Sports Sciences 20, 345–352 (2002)
McNair, P.J., Depledge, J., Brettkelly, M., Stanley, S.N.: Verbal encouragement: effects on maximum effort voluntary muscle: action. British Journal of Sports Medicine 30, 243–245 (1996)
Figoni, S.F., Morris, A.F.: Effects of Knowledge of Results on Reciprocal, lsokinetic Strength and Fatigue. The Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy 6, 190 (1984)
Bogost, I.: The rhetoric of exergaming. In: Digital Arts and Cultures (DAC) Conference. IT University Copenhagen (December 2005)
Goebel, S., Hardy, S., Wendel, V., Mehm, F., Steinmetz, R.: Serious games for health: personalized exergames. In: Proceedings of the International Conference on Multimedia 2010, pp. 1663–1666. ACM (2010)
Lin, J.J., Mamykina, L., Lindtner, S., Delajoux, G., Strub, H.B.: Fish’n’Steps: Encouraging Physical Activity with an Interactive Computer Game. In: Dourish, P., Friday, A. (eds.) UbiComp 2006. LNCS, vol. 4206, pp. 261–278. Springer, Heidelberg (2006)
Merians, A.S., Jack, D., Boian, R., Tremaine, M., Burdea, G.C., Adamovich, S.V., Recce, M., Poizner, H.: Virtual reality–augmented rehabilitation for patients following stroke. Physical Therapy 82, 898–915 (2002)
Heidi, S.: Motor rehabilitation using virtual reality. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation
Yannakakis, G.N., Togelius, J.: Experience-driven procedural content generation. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing 2, 147–161 (2011)
Burke, J.W., McNeill, M.D.J., Charles, D.K., Morrow, P.J., Crosbie, J.H., McDonough, S.M.: Serious games for upper limb rehabilitation following stroke. In: IEEE Conference on Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications, VS-GAMES 2009, pp. 103–110 (2009)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Mathew, T., Zange, J., Rittweger, J., Herpers, R. (2012). A Computer Game Based Motivation System for Human Physiology Studies. In: Ma, M., Oliveira, M.F., Hauge, J.B., Duin, H., Thoben, KD. (eds) Serious Games Development and Applications. SGDA 2012. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 7528. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33687-4_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33687-4_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33686-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33687-4
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)
