Systematic review of Kinect applications in elderly care and stroke rehabilitation

Abstract

In this paper we present a review of the most current avenues of research into Kinect-based elderly care and stroke rehabilitation systems to provide an overview of the state of the art, limitations, and issues of concern as well as suggestions for future work in this direction. The central purpose of this review was to collect all relevant study information into one place in order to support and guide current research as well as inform researchers planning to embark on similar studies or applications. The paper is structured into three main sections, each one presenting a review of the literature for a specific topic. Elderly Care section is comprised of two subsections: Fall detection and Fall risk reduction. Stroke Rehabilitation section contains studies grouped under Evaluation of Kinect's spatial accuracy, and Kinect-based rehabilitation methods. The third section, Serious and exercise games, contains studies that are indirectly related to the first two sections and present a complete system for elderly care or stroke rehabilitation in a Kinect-based game format. Each of the three main sections conclude with a discussion of limitations of Kinect in its respective applications. The paper concludes with overall remarks regarding use of Kinect in elderly care and stroke rehabilitation applications and suggestions for future work. A concise summary with significant findings and subject demographics (when applicable) of each study included in the review is also provided in table format.

Figure 1

Manuscript Structure. Structure of the manuscript summarizing how studies included in this review were grouped together into relevance-based subsections. The Applications in Elderly Care section is comprised of two subsections: 1) Fall detection and 2) Fall risk reduction. The Applications in Stroke Rehabilitation section contains: 1) Evaluation of Kinect’s spatial accuracy and 2) Kinect-based rehabilitation methods. We have included a third section titled ‘Serious and exercise games’ for studies that we believe are indirectly related to the first two sections and present a complete system for elderly care or stroke rehabilitation in a Kinect-based game format. There are many applications of the Kinect in rehabilitative and assistance-based research that, while extremely important, fall outside the scope of this systematic review.

Figure 2

Study results during PRISMA phases. Visual representation of the article search and inclusion/exclusion process during different phases of the conducted review process.