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Comparison Of Vibrotactile/Audio And Audio Cues While Playing An Exergame For Users Who Are Blind

2010; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; Volume: 42; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1249/01.mss.0000384794.40616.a4

1530-0315

John T. Foley, Eelke Folmer, Tony Morelli, Meghan Morningstar, Nicole Corcoran, Lauren J. Lieberman,

Tactile and Sensory Interactions

Lack of physical activity is a serious health concern for individuals with Visually Impaired. Exergames are rapidly emerging as a tool to increase physical activity of today's youth. However, because many games are built with a graphic user interface, this limits the opportunities for youth who are blind. Because of this, researchers developed a new game, VI Tennis, which uses of vibrotactile and audio cues as alternative stimuli. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test this new game and compare the physical activity levels using vibrotactile and audio cues as alternative stimuli. METHODS: Participants were 9 males and 4 females, mean age =12.6, who were totally blind. The youth were randomly assigned to either group A or B. Group A (n=6) played VI Tennis with both vibrotactile and audio cues on day one and the audio only version on day two. Group B (n=7) played the games in reverse order. Physical activity levels were captured with an Actical omnidirectional accelerometer worn on the child's wrist. RESULTS: The results of a paired t-test indicated no significant difference between the raw activity counts using vibrotactile with audio cues (M = 2781.38 per min,+/- 735.61) and only audio cues (M = 2701.68 per min, +/- 552.19), t=0.320, p=.75. Metabolic equivalent values estimated by the Actical Software were used to calculate time spent in moderate to vigorous physical activity. Both groups exceeded 9 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity during each 10 minutes bout. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that exergame platforms that incorporate vibrotactile and/or auditory feedback can benefit individuals with visual impairments and help them engage in moderate to vigorous physical activity.