Real-time Self-directed Behavior and Intervention Management Framework
ECE Capstone Design Project, Spring ‘14
Matt Araneta, Kevin Hsieh, Geoffrey Oh, John Reed
Advisors: Dr. Dario Pompili and PhD student Hariharasudhan Viswanathan
Overview of health behavior and intervention management framework
Shimmer sensing device Data displaying app Snapshot of the virtual game
Introduction
Healthcare is a necessary aspect of our lives; however, not everyone can take full advantage of it. Some people will forego fixing their problems because they lack the monetary means to do so. Sometimes a patient will need to undergo a lifestyle change that requires periodic visits to a medical center, yet he will not do so because he feels spending the time and money doing so is simply an inconvenience. This project helps the patients in these types of situations through the use of contingency management and mobile devices.( “Real-Time Self-Directed Behavior and Intervention Management Framework”)
Motivation
It is clear not everyone has the monetary means to take full advantage of the healthcare system, yet more and more people possess smartphones or other mobile devices. There must be a way to take advantage of the growing number of smartphone users to tackle the problem of limited healthcare. If healthcare providers could increase the amount of dialogue made through mobile phones, then perhaps people would be able to obtain more affordable healthcare.
The only problem with this is that the healthcare officials would not be able to observe the problems of the patients in order to diagnose them. This is what this project aims to accomplish. Through the use of sensors, this project monitors the user’s daily activity and fitness. Another issue is that the users may not want to increase their overall fitness, or even keep wearing the sensors at all.
This problem is solved through a virtual contingency management system. A normal contingency management system is a type of reinforcement that provides rewards for the user achieving a higher state of health.(" scholarpedia.org") The objective of this project is to create virtual rewards that the user can achieve through their results in the real world. Virtual rewards are more sustainable than the traditional monetary rewards used in contingency management systems.
Design
The sensors used are made by Shimmer Sensing("shimmersensing.com"), with the GSR and ECG sensors currently being used. Data is gathered from the sensors throughout the day, and this data is stored to observe the user’s fitness level. Transformations are done on the data to review if the user has made positive progress in their fitness. If the user has made progress, the user will achieve more virtual rewards; if the user has not made progress for some time, rewards are removed.
The reward system of choice for this project is upgrades in a mobile game. Because the users will already be using their phones for feedback from their doctors, a mobile application is perfect for distributing rewards. The game in this case is a 2d space shooter game. The base of the game is open source, and is made in the Unity Game Engine("unity3d.com"). This game is heavily expanded upon, allowing for multiple levels, and the distribution of rewards. The user can achieve a higher score through tight play, but the upgrades give can help tremendously. Therefore, the user will be motivated to improve their fitness level in order to keep trying for higher and higher scores.
Another aspect of the game is social media. The application has Facebook integration that lets the user observe the scores of their friends, along with the scores of other users who are undergoing the same healthcare treatments as them. This encourages friendly competition between friends and acquaintances in order to perform their best and to show their fitness progress.
Conclusion
While it may be some time before affordable sensors are widely available, it is clear that a virtual contingency management system has the tools to motivate users to improve their lifestyle. These improvements can be broadcast to the patient’s doctors, allowing for faster feedback and fewer medical visits.
References
1.http://www.shimmersensing.com/
2.https://unity3d.com/
3.Pompili, Dario. “Real-Time Self-Directed Behavior and Intervention Management Framework”. 2014.
4.http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Reinforcement_learning
5.https://wikispaces.psu.edu/display/PSYCH484/3.+Reinforcement+Theory