Exergaming for active healthy ageing and rehabilitation - Brain activity and body movements during balance-based exergaming in elderly

Elderly are the single largest group of health care users in western society. Lifestyle, disease and biology put older people at increased risk of functional decline, leading to falls, cognitive impairment, frailty, and negative consequences for quality of life. With the projected demographic changes in the decades to come, the proportion of elderly is expected to further increase without concomitant increases in health care personnel. The resultant stress on the health care system necessitates the development and exploitation of health care technology that can promote active healthy ageing, prevent age-related functional decline, and improve access to and effectiveness of treatment and rehabilitation. The current project aims to develop this technology by using exergaming as a means to i) increase physical activity and ii) administer and monitor personalized rehabilitation programs. In order to establish exergaming as a comprehensive and effective training and rehabilitation technology, the current project aims to fill current knowledge gaps by three intertwined, trans-disciplinary Work Packages (WPs), each with a specific focus and receiving contribution from various disciplines. The focus of WP1 is on exergame design and improvement of exercise uptake and adherence. WP2 focuses on the personalisation of exergames for patient-specific rehabilitation. WP3 focuses on the mapping of cortical activity during exergaming to enable patient-specific selection of cognitive and motor exercises in the rehabilitation of cognitive and physical functioning. Together, the WPs will result in new behavioural and clinical knowledge that has repercussions for effective exergame design. Furthermore, in-depth mapping between specific exercises and concurrent cerebral activity will have implications for, and enable, personalizing game design to fit individual patients.