Abstract
Background Physical rehabilitation exergames (PREGs) are suitable for motivating patients toward
completing treatments. Leap Motion (LM) is a motion sensor that may be useful for
developing PREGs targeted at hands and fingers rehabilitation. Therefore, knowing
the advantages and limitations of LM is relevant to understand under which conditions
this sensor may be suitable.
Objective In this article, we present a qualitative study to identify the main advantages and
limitations of LM for PREGs.
Methods We collect data using interviews with a group of PREGs developers, physical therapy
experts, and patients. We employ the thematic analysis method to analyze the collected
data.
Results We found that the advantages and limitations of LM are related to (1) the role as
PREG development tool that enables hand movements detection, (2) the capability to
be a mobile and easy-to-use capturing technology, and (3) the contribution to add
value in rehabilitation therapy by motivating physical therapists and patients to
use PREGs.
Conclusion The analysis shows that LM is a suitable and cost-effective solution for developing
usable PREGs for some hand and finger rehabilitation movements with a moderate development
effort. However, the development maturity of LM poses limitations related to reliability
and robustness, preventing the use of LM as a standalone physical rehabilitation tool.
Our findings serve as guidelines for developers and physical therapists during the
development and use of PREGs targeted at hands and fingers, guiding the decision-making
process during feasibility analysis and design stages.
Keywords
Leap Motion advantages and limitations - physical rehabilitation exergames development
- hand and finger movements - hands rehabilitation support
