The objective of this study was to develop a low cost system for training eye and hand coordination using gamification as a tool for improving hand function in chronic stroke patients.

Eye-hand coordination is essential for humans, as many activities in daily life require precise eye and hand functions. The stroke survivors have poorer eye-hand coordination when using their hemiparetic hand. A  significant correlation exists between eye–hand coordination performance and hand function test scores. 

6 subjects (mean age 63.2±4.3 years) with chronic stroke were screened and randomized into experimental and control groups with n=3 each. Both groups received 1 hour of standard upper limb physical therapy, 6 days a week for 4 weeks. Experimental group also played a customized eye hand coordination game called "HandEye" using Tobii Eye X® and Leap Motion® for 3 sessions of 2 minutes each. Primary outcome measure was BBT (Box and Block Test).

A significant improvement in scores of BBT was found in both experimental (F=234.244, p<0.001) and control (F=85.099, p<0.001) group from pre to post intervention but the change in BBT scores were higher in experimental group. The difference between the change in BBT scores from pre to post intervention were significant (F= 52.071, p<0.001). Pearson’s correlation analysis revealed a highly positive relationship (r² = 0.604; p <0.01) between scores of HandEye and Box and Block Test of the hemiparetic extremity in the experimental group.

Table 1. Average BBT scores of hemiparetic arm before and after treatment. 

Values are presented as mean±standard deviation.

BBT, box and block test

Natural user interface technologies can be useful for hand rehabilitation in stroke survivors.