Healthc Inform Res.  2023 Oct;29(4):343-351. 10.4258/hir.2023.29.4.343.

Digital Therapeutic Exercises Using Augmented Reality Glasses for Frailty Prevention among Older Adults

• Hong J
• Kong HJ

• KMID: 2547687
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4258/hir.2023.29.4.343

Abstract

Objectives
The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a digital therapeutic exercise platform for pre-frail or frail elderly individuals using augmented reality (AR) technology accessed through glasses. A tablet-based exercise program was utilized for the control group, and a non-inferiority assessment was employed.
Methods
The participants included older adult women aged 65 years and older residing in Incheon, South Korea. A digital therapeutic exercise program involving AR glasses or tablet-based exercise was administered twice a week for 12 weeks, with gradually increasing exercise duration. Statistical analysis was conducted using the t-test and Wilcoxon rank sum test for non-inferiority assessment.
Results
In the primary efficacy assessment, regarding the change in lower limb strength, a non-inferior result was observed for the intervention group (mean change, 5.46) relative to the control group (mean change, 4.83), with a mean difference of 0.63 between groups (95% confidence interval, –2.33 to 3.58). Changes in body composition and physical fitness-related variables differed non-significantly between the groups. However, the intervention group demonstrated a significantly greater increase in cardiorespiratory endurance (p < 0.005) and a significantly larger decrease in the frailty index (p < 0.001).
Conclusions
An AR-based digital therapeutic program significantly and positively contributed to the improvement of cardiovascular endurance and the reduction of indicators of aging among older adults. These findings underscore the value of digital therapeutics in mitigating the effects of aging.

Keyword

Augmented Reality, Frailty, Exercise Therapy, Geriatrics, Telerehabilitation

Figure

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  Figure 1 Flow diagram of study design. MMSE-K: Korea version of Mini-Mental State Examination, PAR-Q: Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire.

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  Figure 2 Overview of the digital therapeutic exercise platform using a WebRTC-based video conferencing system superimposed onto the optical see-through lenses of the device. STUN: Session Traversal Utilities for NAT, TURN: Traversal Using Relays around NAT, AR: augmented reality, RPE: rating of perceived exertion, DTx: digital therapeutics, WebRTC: web real-time communication.

Reference

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