Jongbae Kim

Virtual Reality and Computer-Enhanced Training Applied to Wheeled Mobility: An Overview of Work in Pittsburgh

Some aspects of assistive technology can be enhanced by the application of virtual reality. Although virtual simulation offers a range of new possibilities, learning to navigate in a virtual environment is not equivalent to learning to navigate in the real world. Therefore, virtual reality simulation is advocated as a useful preparation for assessment and training within the physical environment. We are engaged in several efforts to develop virtual environments and devices for mobility skills assessment and training, exercise training, and environment assessment. Virtual reality offers wheelchair users a training tool in different risk-free environments without any indoor (e.g., walls, furniture, and stairs) and outdoor (e.g., curb cuts, uneven terrain, and street traffic) physical constraints. Virtual reality technology will probably become more common in the field of assistive technology, especially given the rapid expansion of gaming technology and the continued exponential growth of computing power.

Effectiveness Evaluation of a Remote Accessibility Assessment System for Wheelchair Users Using Virtualized Reality

OBJECTIVEnTo determine the value of the Remote Accessibility Assessment System (RAAS), a 3-dimensional (3D) image reconstruction technology designed to analyze accessibility of the target built environment in a virtualized reality, in assessing a built environments accessibility by calculating the congruence level between the RAAS and conventional in-person method.nnnDESIGNnRepeated-measures (within-subject) design.nnnSETTINGnA university research laboratory.nnnPARTICIPANTSnThree homes for people who use wheeled mobility devices.nnnINTERVENTIONnHome physical environment was divided into several potential problem areas such as entrance, hallway, bathroom, and living room. Each area was identified by several tasks that might be performed in it. All possible tasks in each area within each home were evaluated using 2 methods: RAAS and the conventional in-person assessment. The evaluations were performed by a different home modification specialist for each method.nnnMAIN OUTCOME MEASURESnConventional in-person assessments were cross-tabulated with assessments from RAAS, with which there are 4 possible assessment combinations. A true positive (checked-checked) occurs when the RAAS method checks the target task as problematic and it is also checked as problematic by the conventional in-person method. True negative (not checked-not checked), false positive (not checked-checked), and false negative (checked-not checked) were also identified as the same way.nnnRESULTSnThe proportion of overall agreement was high at 94.1% and the overall sensitivity and specificity was 95.6% and 90.3%, respectively. A significant kappa coefficient of .857 and the 95% confidence interval of the odds ratio of 104.062 to 404.921 were calculated and a high level of overall agreement rate was shown. A high P value (.868) of the McNemar test implied that there was no marginal homogeneity, that is, no tendency to identify the task incorrectly in the positive or negative direction.nnnCONCLUSIONSnThis system proved that virtualized reality and 3D reconstruction technology may provide an effective means to investigate the architectural features of a built environment without an expert visiting the site. This system could become an efficient tool for the service provider and can provide expert service to underserved clients that would otherwise be unavailable.

Telerehabilitation Needs: A Bidirectional Survey of Health Professionals and Individuals with Spinal Cord Injury in South Korea

OBJECTIVEnTo assess multiple facets of awareness, understanding, value, needs, and desirability to resolve issues regarding unmet medical needs of individuals with a disability by adopting telerehabilitation. The survey included collection and analysis of current services as well as of supplementary and future services of rehabilitative interventions in South Korea.nnnSTUDY DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTSnThirty-six health professionals who were members of the Korean Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine and 57 individuals with spinal cord injury responded to a survey of those belonging to two non-profit professional groups, one group belonging to the Korean Spinal Cord Injury Association and joining the National Spinal Cord Injury Wheelchair Games and the other group belonging to the Jeong-Sang-Hye (High Quad Spinal Cord Injury Association) and having joined one of the focus groups of the Korea National Rehabilitation Research Institute. The two surveys were designed specifically for investigating each groups perspectives of awareness, understanding, value, needs, and desirability of telerehabilitation.nnnRESULTSnThe survey responses indicated that there is great interest in the possibility of telerehabilitative services among individuals with spinal cord injury. In particular, there was a strong interest expressed in services that can be used to resolve issues on unmet medical needs of individuals with a disability related to health monitoring, sustaining health, rehabilitation interventions, and independence of activities of daily living.nnnCONCLUSIONSnTelerehabilitation holds great promise as a bridge to traditional face-to-face clinical service delivery. From the results, there are a few categories in the survey that indicate notable differences between the two groups regarding the awareness, desirability, order of preference in rehabilitation service, and telerehabilitation expenses.

Quantitative approach of remote accessibility assessment system (RAAS) in telerehabilitation

Assessing the accessibility using 3D Virtual Reality and telecommunication technology has influenced home adaptation to improve accessibility in homes for individuals with disabilities, especially with Spinal Cord Injury. To provide clients with quantitative ideas on home adaptation with levels of accessibility, we propose a tentative method of measuring accessibility in home. There are a number of assessment protocols to assist rehabilitation professionals and architects in gaining wheelchair accessibility. In this paper, we briefly introduce quantitative assessment method of wheelchair accessibility in home. The feasibility of mathematical expressions of the quantitative accessibility was discussed.

Designing Usability Assessment to Improve User's Acceeptability on Quality of Life Technology(QoLT) for Individuals with Disability

Usability assessment has been installed into a wide range of software that focuses on assessing product usage form the users perspective. Usability assessment of the quality of life technology for individuals with disability is being discussed and tentatively designed which is also expanded to the products for non-disabled people with minor adjustment of the usability assessment protocol. Designing an appropriate usability assessment protocol by referencing the currently available international standards on software usability tests with number of modifications to produce valuable feedbacks is under evaluation process regarding product usability enhancement. The feasibility study on usability assessment protocol into quality of life technologies is presented with discussions on further research.