“Virtual reality gaming applications installed on mobile devices to improve responsiveness and motor performance for patients with Parkinson's disease "The Guardian of Watcharapri"
Description: Thailand is stepping into an aging society, and Parkinson's disease is becoming more prevalent among the elderly. The VR game "The Guardian of Watcharapri" on Oculus Quest aims to assist patients by merging gameplay and narrative. It enhances motor skills, countering disease progression. Combining whack-a-mole dynamics with a storyline, it promotes exercise to mitigate the severity of Parkinson's.
Thailand is stepping into an aging society and will become a complete aging society in the year 2025. From this situation, all parties are prepared to deal with changes that will occur in terms of health and welfare expenses. Many countries have accepted that the health and welfare expenses that the government has to provide services to the elderly requires a high budget. Due to the advancement in medicine, modern technology, health care both physically and mentally, these cause the elderly population to increase in number every year. It is certain that the coming of the aging society one thing that often comes along with the elderly is sickness, one of them is Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's disease is the second most common neurodegenerative disease after Alzheimer's disease, accounting for 1% of people over 65 years old. The disease is increasing every year. Parkinson's disease is a degenerative neurodegenerative disease in the Substantia nigra pars compacta (SNpc), resulting in movement-related disorders due to decreased dopamine neurotransmitter, which controls continuous movement of the body. The symptoms of Parkinson's disease are characterized by motor problems, including tremors, stiffness, slow movements, and unbalanced movement, there are also non-motor symptoms. Non-motor symptoms often do not respond to medication because it is caused by abnormalities of other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norephinephrine, etc., so the treatment does not consist of just treating movement disorders. The advent of modern technology often plays a role in the treatment and exercise or physiotherapy. One of them is virtual reality or VR, a technology that displays 3D models through a display device. There are many devices that support virtual reality that allows users to use according to various purposes by now. The device that was created to allow users to enter a 3D simulated world is the Meta Quest. The highlight of the Meta Quest is to combine the advantages of both VR glasses together with wireless, has an internal tracking system, does not require external sensors to help track location. It gives players complete freedom of movement. At the same time, it has processing power similar to a PC. It can play games on the Oculus Rift as well. From the introduction mentioned above, the researcher has an idea to develop a Virtual Reality Gaming Applications Installed with Mobile Devices to Improve Body Responsiveness and Movement Performance for Parkinson's Disease Patients "The Guardian of Watcharapri", the game is inspired by whack-a-mole games combined with story binding that allows players to take on the role of a character who has a rice field for harvesting rice in a village named "Watcharapri". However, the arrival of various pests has caused damage to the rice fields. It is the player's duty to protect their rice fields from being disturbed by various pests. In which the player will have to do various missions, assigned and must use motor skills to respond to the game and use the response ability to check and follow the commands within the game within the specified time. As a result, players with Parkinson's disease can exercise and develop motor skills to maintain their performance without deterioration and wit, which affects the development of motor skills and response. And affects the prevention of the severity of Parkinson's disease from becoming more serious than it is.
Organisation: Phetchaburi Vocational College
Innovator(s): 1. Mr.Sira Prasertsak 2. Ms.Arunkamol Juntaros 3. Ms.Suwapat Khamtawee 4. Mr.Dhonlawat Sangpu 5. Mr.Badin Nalsawang 6. Mr.Pornchai Notsor7. Mr.Chanin Jusomchai 8. Mr.Natchanon Panyamak 9. Mr.Tula Kimthong
Category: Healthcare/Fitness
Country: Thailand
