Sarah Collins

Auditory Feedback

Real-time Auditory Feedback of paretic arm exercise in Stroke Rehabilitation
This thesis explores real-time auditory feedback of paretic arm exercise in Stroke rehabilitation. Previous research in sports, physiotherapy and physical rehabilitation has demonstrated that sonification, which is the use of non-speech audio to convey information, can significantly improve motor performance. Based on a consideration of this research, a range of sonification approaches for bilateral arm exercise were created as a set of patches in the pure data platform.
The five main approaches to the sonic response were based on the pentatonic scale, the sweeping of a band pass center frequency, a basic frequency modulation synthesis, vowel synthesis, and the natural friction model for rolling (Cartoonification). To evaluate the efficacy, suitability and aesthetic qualities of the different approaches a user study was performed. Each sonic response was evaluated with respect to aesthetic worth, informative value, and clarity, and also in relation to how interesting, focusing or motivating they were. The results revealed the preferred feedback types as the filter sweep model, the pentatonic scale and the rolling model, as these rated highest for the attributes tested. There is substantial evidence in the literature to support the hypotheses that auditory feedback would significantly improve motor performance of hemiparesis.