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Thorpe, A., Friedman, J., Evans, S., Nesbitt, K., & Eidels, A. (2022). Mouse Movement Trajectories as an Indicator of Cognitive Workload. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 38(15), 1464–1479.
Abstract: Assessing the cognitive impact of user interfaces is a shared focus of human-computer interaction researchers and cognitive scientists. Methods of cognitive assessment based on data derived from the system itself, rather than external apparatus, have the potential to be applied in a range of scenarios. The current study applied methods of analyzing kinematics to mouse movements in a computer-based task, alongside the detection response task, a standard workload measure. Sixty-five participants completed a task in which stationary stimuli were tar;geted using a mouse, with a within-subjects factor of task workload based on the number of targets to be hovered over with the mouse (one/two), and a between-subjects factor based on whether both targets (exhaustive) or just one target (minimum-time) needed to be hovered over to complete a trial when two targets were presented. Mouse movement onset times were slower and mouse movement trajectories exhibited more submovements when two targets were presented, than when one target was presented. Responses to the detection response task were also slower in this condition, indicating higher cognitive workload. However, these differences were only found for participants in the exhaustive condition, suggesting those in the minimum-time condition were not affected by the presence of the second target. Mouse movement trajectory results agreed with other measures of workload and task performance. Our findings suggest this analysis can be applied to workload assessments in real-world scenarios.
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Mimouni-Bloch, A., Shaklai, S., Levin, M., Ingber, M., Karolitsky, T., Grunbaum, S., et al. (2023). Developmental and acquired brain injury have opposite effects on finger coordination in children. Front. Hum. Neurosci., 17, 1083304.
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Krasovsky, T., Weiss, P. L., Zuckerman, O., Bar, A., Keren-Capelovitch, T., & Friedman, J. (2020). DataSpoon: Validation of an Instrumented Spoon for Assessment of Self-Feeding. Sensors (Basel), 20(7).
Abstract: Clinically feasible assessment of self-feeding is important for adults and children with motor impairments such as stroke or cerebral palsy. However, no validated assessment tool for self-feeding kinematics exists. This work presents an initial validation of an instrumented spoon (DataSpoon) developed as an evaluation tool for self-feeding kinematics. Ten young, healthy adults (three male; age 27.2 +/- 6.6 years) used DataSpoon at three movement speeds (slow, comfortable, fast) and with three different grips: “natural”, power and rotated power grip. Movement kinematics were recorded concurrently using DataSpoon and a magnetic motion capture system (trakSTAR). Eating events were automatically identified for both systems and kinematic measures were extracted from yaw, pitch and roll (YPR) data as well as from acceleration and tangential velocity profiles. Two-way, mixed model Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and 95% limits of agreement (LOA) were computed to determine agreement between the systems for each kinematic variable. Most variables demonstrated fair to excellent agreement. Agreement for measures of duration, pitch and roll exceeded 0.8 (excellent agreement) for >80% of speed and grip conditions, whereas lower agreement (ICC < 0.46) was measured for tangential velocity and acceleration. A bias of 0.01-0.07 s (95% LOA [-0.54, 0.53] to [-0.63, 0.48]) was calculated for measures of duration. DataSpoon enables automatic detection of self-feeding using simple, affordable movement sensors. Using movement kinematics, variables associated with self-feeding can be identified and aid clinical reasoning for adults and children with motor impairments.
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Zacks, O., & Friedman, J. (2020). Analogies can speed up the motor learning process. Sci Rep, 10(1), 6932.
Abstract: Analogies have been shown to improve motor learning in various tasks and settings. In this study we tested whether applying analogies can shorten the motor learning process and induce insight and skill improvement in tasks that usually demand many hours of practice. Kinematic measures were used to quantify participant's skill and learning dynamics. For this purpose, we used a drawing task, in which subjects drew lines to connect dots, and a mirror game, in which subjects tracked a moving stimulus. After establishing a baseline, subjects were given an analogy, explicit instructions or no further instruction. We compared their improvement in skill (quantified by coarticulation or smoothness), accuracy and movement duration. Subjects in the analogy and explicit groups improved their coarticulation in the target task, while significant differences were found in the mirror game only at a slow movement frequency between analogy and controls.We conclude that a verbal analogy can be a useful tool for rapidly changing motor kinematics and movement strategy in some circumstances, although in the tasks selected it did not produce better performance in most measurements than explicit guidance. Furthermore, we observed that different movement facets may improve independently from others, and may be selectively affected by verbal instructions. These results suggest an important role for the type of instruction in motor learning.
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Banina, M. C., Molad, R., Solomon, J. S., Berman, S., Soroker, N., Frenkel-Toledo, S., et al. (2020). Exercise intensity of the upper limb can be enhanced using a virtual rehabilitation system. Disabil Rehabil Assist Technol, , 1–7.
Abstract: Purpose: Motor recovery of the upper limb (UL) is related to exercise intensity, defined as movement repetitions divided by minutes in active therapy, and task difficulty. However, the degree to which UL training in virtual reality (VR) applications deliver intense and challenging exercise and whether these factors are considered in different centres for people with different sensorimotor impairment levels is not evidenced. We determined if (1) a VR programme can deliver high UL exercise intensity in people with sub-acute stroke across different environments and (2) exercise intensity and difficulty differed among patients with different levels of UL sensorimotor impairment.Methods: Participants with sub-acute stroke (<6 months) with Fugl-Meyer scores ranging from 14 to 57, completed 10 approximately 50-min UL training sessions using three unilateral and one bilateral VR activity over 2 weeks in centres located in three countries. Training time, number of movement repetitions, and success rates were extracted from game activity logs. Exercise intensity was calculated for each participant, related to UL impairment, and compared between centres.Results: Exercise intensity was high and was progressed similarly in all centres. Participants had most difficulty with bilateral and lateral reaching activities. Exercise intensity was not, while success rate of only one unilateral activity was related to UL severity.Conclusion: The level of intensity attained with this VR exercise programme was higher than that reported in current stroke therapy practice. Although progression through different activity levels was similar between centres, clearer guidelines for exercise progression should be provided by the VR application.Implications for rehabilitationVR rehabilitation systems can be used to deliver intensive exercise programmes.VR rehabilitation systems need to be designed with measurable progressions through difficulty levels.
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