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GameUp: Exergames for Mobility – A Project to Keep Elderly Active

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XIV Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing 2016

Abstract

A big challenge for Europe is the demographic shift towards an aging population. Resources in the health care sector are limited, so it is important that the seniors of tomorrow will be able to stay healthy and manage themselves as long as possible, preferably also with a good quality of life. Physical activity is very important both for mobility and for the general well-being, but it can be hard to find motivation to exercise alone at home. Also in rehabilitation there is a need for a more engaging approach than a sheet of paper describing exercises that should be performed. In the GameUp project we developed fun and motivational exergames particularly targeting elderly in a user centred approach. Physiotherapists ensured that the movements and exercises were good for flexibility, leg strength and balance. In addition to seven Kinect games, a walking app and a professional portal were developed. The Kinect games can be played in several levels, and those who are at risk of falling are able to play while seated. The professional portal ensures that the results of the project also can be used as a tool in rehabilitation. Test results from 20 elderly aged 65-95 as well as clinical trials of adherence to the exercises are encouraging, and the international and multidisciplinary team behind the project is now looking for ways to commercialize the project outcomes.

The original version of this chapter was inadvertently published with an incorrect chapter pagination 1219–1224 and DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-32703-7_235. The page range and the DOI has been re-assigned. The correct page range is 1225–1230 and the DOI is 10.1007/978-3-319-32703-7_236. The erratum to this chapter is available at DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-32703-7_260

An erratum to this chapter can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32703-7_260

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Correspondence to Ellen Brox .

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Brox, E. et al. (2016). GameUp: Exergames for Mobility – A Project to Keep Elderly Active. In: Kyriacou, E., Christofides, S., Pattichis, C. (eds) XIV Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing 2016. IFMBE Proceedings, vol 57. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32703-7_236

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-32703-7_236

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