Evaluating User Experiences in Rehabilitation Games

Computer-based systems for motor function rehabilitation have been around for more than a decade, with work done to help recovery of function in the lower limb (ankle, leg) as well as upper limb (hand and arm). More recently there has been a trend towards the use of game-based systems to deliver rehabilitation goals. Our interdisciplinary group has been working in the area of motor function recovery of the hand and arm (following stroke) for a number of years, using both high-end virtual reality (VR) technology as well as low-cost video capture technology. Over this time it has become clear that there are many challenges in designing usable, effective game-based systems for motor function rehabilitation. This paper reflects on user experiences across the range of technologies developed by our group. We present a summary review of our systems and detail the protocols and user evaluation instruments used. We then critically reflect on this work and review other recent advances in game usability and playability, leading to suggestions for how the user experience of games for rehabilitation may be improved in future work.