This work was developed as part of the CAPES COFECUB project nº 23038.003097/2019-07, title “Development of a Human-Machine Interface for the Evaluation of Motor Signs of Parkinson’s Disease”, with the partnership of two institutions: the Federal University of Uberlandia in Brazil, under the coordination of Professor Adriano de Oliveira Andrade – PhD in Cybernetics (University of Reading, United Kingdom, 2005); and the Université de Lorraine in France, under the coordination of Professor Yann Morère – PhD in Industrial and Human Automation (Université Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, 2001).
The project has the participation of master’s, doctoral and post-doctoral students, as well as a team of professors and researchers with different specialties, contributing to the formation of a multidisciplinary team. The integrants are members of different research units and technological centres, such as Laboratory of Design, Optimization and Modeling of Systems (LCOMS), located at the University of Lorraine, Metz, France; Center for Innovation and Assessment of Technologies in Health (NIATS), Assistive Technology Laboratory (NTA), and Computer Graphics Laboratory (CG), located at the Federal University of Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Brazil; Bioengineering and Biomechanics Laboratory (Labioeng), at the Federal University of Goias, Goiania, Brazil; and Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Brasília (IFB), at Brasilia, Brazil.
The project started in 2019 with the development of a human-machine interface (HMI) device to be used as part of a serious game for the rehabilitation of the hand and wrist of individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). The project is still under development, and in this space the results obtained so far will be briefly shown.
In short, two versions of a wearable interface device were created that use inertial sensors to estimate users’ hand orientation. Also, the serious game called RehaBEElitation was developed and its usability was evaluated.