A Digital Game to Support Voice Treatment for Parkinson's Disease

Abstract

Parkinson’s disease causes a wide range of motor impairments that also affect speech. Even patients with mild speech motor disabilities do suffer from symptoms such as reduced dynamics, melody, tone, pace and continuity of speech. Besides invasive or drug based treatments, effective logopedic treatments do exist. However, constant training is a key factor for this type of therapy. Digital games can be one way to enhance patient’s motivation for repetitive exercises both in therapy sessions and in prolonged use at home. This paper examines the possibilities of such a digital logopedic game developed for PD patients and reports first promising study results that indicate an increased peak voice loudness of the players’ voice when playing the game.

Publication
CHI ‘13 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Date