Designing an Augmented Reality-Based Serious Game for Rehabilitation of Post-Stroke Patient's Hand Coordination and Motor Skills

Stroke, a leading global cause of mortality, often results in debilitating motor and coordination impairments. The upper body's slower recovery compared to the lower limbs presents a significant challenge, with approximately 21% of stroke patients unable to fully regain upper limb motor function. As a result, rehabilitating upper limb motor function, particularly hand coordination, is of paramount importance. This paper presents a novel approach to stroke rehabilitation, utilizing Augmented Reality (AR) technology in the form of a game-based intervention. Leveraging advancements in cognitive and motor training, the research focuses on Serious Games (SG), where games serve not only as entertainment but also as educational and therapeutic tools. By employing an AR marker, this system accurately tracks patient movements during rehabilitation. To validate its effectiveness, a comprehensive assessment is conducted using both black-box and white-box testing methods. We also use the Fugl Meyer Assessment for quantifying sensorimotor recovery following strokes. The results demonstrate that the AR-based serious game provides an engaging and effective means of improving hand coordination and motor skills in post-stroke patients. The precise marker recognition, transparent scoring, and efficient completion time recording hold the potential to revolutionize stroke rehabilitation. Future research may explore clinical trials to assess patient outcomes and the game's practicality in a healthcare setting. The development of AR-based rehabilitation games holds promise for post-stroke patients, offering a more comfortable and engaging path to recovery while delivering precise evaluation data to therapists.