Mim-pong: a serious game for assessment and treatment of the lower limb in hemiparetic stroke patients

Fernando L. F. Eichinger; Fabrício Noveletto; Susana  C. Domenech; Thierry Moulin; Yoshimasa Sagawa; Antonio Vinicius Soares

doi:10.33393/aop.2025.3301

Authors

Fernando L. F. Eichinger Faculty of Physiotherapy and Graduate Program in Health and Environment, University of Joinville Region, Joinville - Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4385-4853
Fabrício Noveletto Faculty of Electrical Engineering, State University of Santa Catarina, Joinville - Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0310-4262
Susana C. Domenech Faculty of Design, State University of Santa Catarina, Florianopolis - Brazil
Thierry Moulin Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology (LINC) UMR 1322 INSERM, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon - France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6639-8117
Yoshimasa Sagawa Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology (LINC) UMR 1322 INSERM, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon - France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1024-3095
Antonio Vinicius Soares Faculty of Physiotherapy and Graduate Program in Health and Environment, University of Joinville Region, Joinville - Brazil and Laboratory for Integrative Neuroscience and Cognitive Psychology (LINC) UMR 1322 INSERM, University of Franche-Comté, Besançon - France https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6090-1423

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33393/aop.2025.3301

Keywords:

Exercise therapy, Hemiparesis, Lower extremity, Rehabilitation, Serious Games, Stroke

Abstract

Introduction: The motor impairment evidenced post-stroke results in limitations to performing activities of daily living (ADL), especially when it involves locomotion. The Serious Games (SG) are an interesting therapeutic option, as they allow the performance of exercises according to stroke treatment guidelines. However, there is little research exploring the evaluation potential of SG. This study aimed to evaluate the possible metric properties of the mim-pong SG in addition to the therapeutic effects.

Methods: Twenty-four hemiparetic stroke patients were divided into two non-randomized groups: the experimental group (EG) (n = 16) and the control group (CG) (n = 8). Participants were evaluated in terms of motor impairment (lower limb), muscle strength (MS), motor control, and functional mobility.

Results: The significant correlations observed between the score generated by the SG and clinical variables in both groups are highlighted, especially with MS (rho = 0.62-0.66; p = 0.000, and rho = 0.67-0.71; p = 0.002-0.005, for the experimental and CGs, respectively) and motor function of the lower limb for the EG (rho = 0.41, p = 0.018). In addition, the results indicated improvements in all variables in the EG, with superiority over the CG.

Conclusions: This study showed that the mim-pong serious game could be considered a potential resource for the assessment and treatment of hemiparetic stroke patients.

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References

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