International Dementia Day and Research with LOVOT

LOVOTs

On the occasion of International Dementia Day, Professor Birthe Dinesen was interviewed by the newspaper “Asahi Shinbun News Paper” from Tokyo, Japan, about our research on the use of social robots for citizens with dementia. It turned into a fine article, so if you want to practice your Japanese, click on this link.

The results from our research are published here:
Dinesen B, Hansen HK, Grønborg GB, Dyrvig AK, Leisted SD, Stenstrup H, Skov Schacksen C, Oestergaard C.
Use of a Social Robot (LOVOT) for Persons With Dementia: Exploratory Study.
JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol 2022;9(3)

New publication on the use of video games for cardiac rehabilitation

NEW PUBLIKATION – Together with Japanese cardiologist I have the following paper published:

The Potential Application of Commercially Available Active Video Games to Cardiac Rehabilitation: Scoping Review

Background

Commercially available active video games (AVGs) have recently been used for rehabilitation in some specific patient populations but rarely in those with cardiovascular disease (CVD). Commercially available AVGs are designed to increase motivation for continuous play, which could be applicable to the long-term cardiac rehabilitation process.

Objective

To assess the effectiveness of AVG-induced physical exercise, safety management, and patient adherence by applying commercially available AVGs to cardiac rehabilitation.

Methods

Scoping review

Results

Among 120 nonduplicate articles reviewed, 5 (4.2%) were eligible for inclusion, of which 3 (2.5%) were reported by the same research group. The AVG consoles used were Xbox Kinect and Nintendo Wii, and sports-related programs were adopted for the intervention. No adverse cardiac events occurred in the identified studies, and dropout rates tended to be low.

Conclusions

AVGs appear to be safe and feasible for promoting an active lifestyle in patients with CVD. However, the effectiveness of AVGs alone as a therapeutic exercise to improve physical function may be limited.

Link to publication

New publication on telerehabilitation of heart failure patients

Effects of Telerehabilitation Interventions on Heart Failure Management (2015-2020): Scoping Review by Schacksen et al 2021 in JMIR Rehabil Assist Technol 2021;8(4):e29714.

The paper has been written in close collaboration with researchers from the Future Patient Project and Jutendo University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.

Objective

The aim of this scoping review was to assess the effects of telerehabilitation in the management of heart failure by systematically reviewing the available scientific literature within the period from January 1, 2015, to December 31, 2020.

Conclusions

It was found that there is a tendency toward improvement in patients’ quality of life and physical capacity when telerehabilitation was used in heart failure management. The outcome measures of depression, anxiety, and adherence to the intervention were found to be positive. Additional research is needed to determine more precise and robust effects of telerehabilitation.