"Rise and Shine": TED video featuring Simon Lewis and his recovery from a serious brain injury, and how cutting-edge technology helped. (Video includes interesting visuals)

Simon Lewis was in an automobile accident that resulted severe injuries to his body, including a very severe head injury that left him in a coma.  As a result of his experience, he wrote a book, "RISE AND SHINE", covering his journey over 15 years of recovery and regeneration.  In the book, Lewis shares what he learned along the way, and how cutting edge technology and some non-traditional thinking helped him move forward.


Simon Lewis had the opportunity to discuss his journey at a TED partner event in India in December, 2010.   The following video of his talk is about 22 minutes long, but worth taking the time to watch. A variety of visuals are used to illustrate his journey and the research he did along the way. Near the end of the video, Simon Lewis demonstrates some of the technologies that he wears that supports his functioning.


Here is the blurb about the book from the Borders website:

"An impassioned tale of survival and recovery, this inspirational story recounts the author’s horrific car accident, his subsequent coma, and the more than 15 years of cutting-edge treatments and therapies endured during convalescence. With specific details of the rigorous rehabilitation process that ensued, including numerous breakthrough and experimental surgeries, the book also provides practical insight into navigating the treacherous world of insurance and how to differentiate between the often conflicting medical opinions offered. In addition to describing the numerous procedures undergone, the author tells not only of his pain, frustration, and despair, but also of his childlike wonder at the beauty and miracle of creation. A first-person account of sudden, unexpected tragedy and life-affirming courage, this remarkable tale of regeneration imparts lessons both medical and spiritual."


The Rise and Shine website includes many of the graphics used in Simon's video, and is worth taking some time to explore. Some of the graphics are interactive. (Since the website relies on Flash, it won't work if you try to access it using an iPad.)


Comment:  As a school psychologist with additional training in neuropsychology - specifically assessment and intervention for children and teens who have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI), this topic is important to me.  I'm watching the video a second time, and I plan to read his book.

(Cross-posted on the TechPsych blog.)

Multi-touch App for Pediatric Neuropsych Assessment and Rehab

Microsoft Surface Multi-touch Application for Pediatric Neuropsychological Assessment and Rehab, by Vectorform

Above is a link to my TechPsych post about the Cook Children's Health Care System's use of multi-touch technology for children and teens who have suffered traumatic brain injuries or have other significant neurological disorders.

Sony Play Station EyeToy: Therapy for Burn Patients

Here is an excerpt from a recent article about the work of Dr. Joseph Haik, a plastic surgeon and burn specialist who has pioneered a therapy that utilizes Sony's Play Station EyeToy:

"The EyeToy is a digital camera, similar to a webcam, whose technology uses computer vision and gesture recognition to process images, enabling players to interact with games using motion and color detection."

"With our method, patients look into the EyeToy and see their images projected on TV," Haik says. "The game recognizes their gestures and shows them to themselves on screen, helping them adjust to what they look like post-burn. That can help combat depression, improve self-image, and encourage patients to move on when other occupational therapies fail," he explains."

"A very important aspect of healing is coming to terms with scars on the face, hands and other exposed body parts. Depression and other symptoms associated with severe burns can make a full recovery more painful and difficult than it may need to be. That's why the EyeToy can be so useful in helping patients to take the first step in accepting a new self-image, Haik says."

"It's Never Too Late" (IN2L), Dakim BrainFitness: Interactive multimedia, touchscreens, and applications for seniors.

Touch-screen applications are making headway with seniors in the form of brain fitness games and therapeutic rehabilitation activities. It makes sense to take this to the next level, via multi-touch and gesture interaction. Here is a brief overview of a few systems that are making some headway in skilled nursing facilities, in homes, and on-line:

State-of-the-Art Technology and Hotel-Like Environment Get CareOne's Rehab Patients Home Quicker

"Seniors are empowered to connect and communicate online, to immerse themselves in rich multimedia experiences, to play, to explore, create, to revisit and document their histories. In short, to be engaged in a multitude of ways that help them remain physically and mentally active.

IN2L uses an easy touch-screen interface that allows each resident to have their own profile that they can access just by touching the screen. Touching picture-based icons on the screen gives the individual access to a wide variety of experiences, games and therapies, including simulation programs like driving, flying and biking." - Mel Fabrikant, The Paramus Post, 5/7/09

The applications can be used by speech, occupational, and physical therapists to deliver reimbursable treatment activities.






New Brain Training System Entertains While Fighting Dementia: Dakim BrainFitness
Jill Schmidt, Reuters 1/9/09

"The turnkey hardware/software system includes a touch screen computer  appliance that requires no mouse or keyboard,
plus brain games that adjust to  different ability levels and are automatically updated every few days over the Internet to avoid boredom.
Already the #1 brain wellness program in senior living communities, the Dakim unit is now being released in a home
edition that makes brain fitness fun while also fighting mental decline." 

Related

Washington Post Article

Future-Making Serious Games Post: Personalized Serious Games for Cognitive Fitness
(Detailed information about the CogniFit online brain training system)

Softkinetic 3D Gesture Recognition for Games and Rehabilitative Play

Taking 3D interaction further, Softkinetic has developed middle-ware that uses a 3D camera to support full-body gesture interaction with games and other applications. No controllers or devices are needed!



The following video is narrated in Portuguese, I, think, but you can understand the content in any language. I you love the Wii, you'll probably like this!


Here is a video that demonstrate how Softkinetic and Silverfit paired together to develop rehabilitative games for the elderly and others:


The following table is from the Silverfit website:

Game	Movement trained
Puzzle	While sitting down, bend whole body left and right, and stand up. Cognitive/visual component.
Mole	Balance exercise by stepping with one leg while standing.
Catching grapes	Walking movement left and right.
Walking	Walking in place, while avoiding obstacles and thresholds. Activity of Daily Life (ADL) component.
Arm exercise	Arm stretching and reaching in all directions with one or both arms. ADL component.
Picking flowers	Walking backwards, forwards and sideways. Optionally, bending down.
Memory	Arm stretching left, right, forwards and upwards. Cognitive component.

RELATED

Softkinetic and Silverfit Introduce Senior-Targeted Gaming
(Danny Cowan, Gamasutra, 12/19/08)

Softkinetic's Gesture-Based Interactive TV Action:

Cross Post: Microsoft Research SenseCam

From the Microsoft Research SenseCam Website:

"SenseCam is a wearable digital camera that is designed to take photographs passively, without user intervention, while it is being worn. Unlike a regular digital camera or a cameraphone, SenseCam does not have a viewfinder or a display that can be used to frame photos. Instead, it is fitted with a wide-angle (fish-eye) lens that maximizes its field-of-view. This ensures that nearly everything in the wearer’s view is captured by the camera, which is important because a regular wearable camera would likely produce many uninteresting images."

Technology Review Article

The SenseCam application has the potential to be a resource for people who have developmental delays, traumatic brain injury, severe attention deficits, and autism spectrum disorders. It would be a great tool for special educators, occupational and speech/language therapists, and rehabilitation specialists.

Images from Microsoft Research: