Papers by Naseem Ahmadpour
Extended Abstracts of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
BACKGROUND Traditional methods for assessing memory are expensive and have high administrative co... more BACKGROUND Traditional methods for assessing memory are expensive and have high administrative costs. Memory assessment is important for establishing cognitive impairment in cases such as detecting dementia in older adults. Technology can assist in better quality outcome in such crucial screening, by supporting the wellbeing of individuals and offering them an engaging, cognitively challenging task, that is not stressful. However, unmet user needs can compromise the validity of the outcome. Therefore, screening technology, particularly for older adults, must address their specific design and usability requirements. OBJECTIVE The objective of this research was to design and evaluate the feasibility of an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) platform to assess spatial navigation memory in older adults and establish its compatibility by comparing the outcome to a standard screening platform on computer PC. METHODS VR-CogAssess, is a platform integrating an Oculus Rift Head Mounted Display (H...
Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), 2021
Background:
Despite optimal medical and/or surgical intervention, freezing of gait occurs common... more Background:
Despite optimal medical and/or surgical intervention, freezing of gait occurs commonly in people with Parkinson’s disease, leading to reduced mobility, falls, poor quality of life and increased healthcare costs. Action observation via video self-modelling, combined with physical practice, has potential as a non-invasive intervention to reduce freezing of gait.
Objective:
To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a home-based, personalised video self-modelling intervention delivered via a virtual reality head mounted display to reduce freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s disease. Secondary aims included investigating the potential effect of this intervention on freezing of gait, mobility and anxiety.
Methods:
A single group pre/post mixed methods pilot trial. Ten participants with Parkinson’s disease and freezing of gait were recruited. A physiotherapist assessed participants in their homes to identify person-specific triggers of freezing and developed individualised movement strategies to overcome freezing of gait. 180-degree videos of participants successfully performing their movement strategies were created. Participants watched their videos using a virtual reality head mounted display, followed by physical practice of their strategies in their own homes over a six-week intervention period. Primary outcome measures included feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included freezing of gait physical tests and questionnaires, Timed Up and Go test, 10m walk test, Goal Attainment Scale, and Parkinson Anxiety Scale.
Results:
Ten participants were recruited. The recruitment rate was 24% and retention rate was 90%. Adherence to the intervention was high, with participants completing a mean of 84% for the prescribed video viewing and a mean of 100% for the prescribed physical practice. One participant used the virtual reality head mounted display for one week and completed the rest of the intervention using a flatscreen device due to a gradual worsening of his motion sickness. No other adverse events occurred during the intervention or assessments. Most participants found using the head mounted display to view their videos interesting and enjoyable and would choose to use this intervention to manage their freezing of gait in the future. Five themes were constructed from interview data: reflections when seeing myself; my experience of using the virtual reality system; the role of the virtual reality system in supporting my learning; developing a deeper understanding on how to manage my freezing of gait; and impact of the intervention on my daily activities. Overall, there were minimal changes to the freezing of gait, mobility or anxiety measures from baseline to post-intervention, although there was substantial variability between participants. The intervention showed potential in reducing anxiety in participants with high levels of anxiety.
Conclusions:
Video self-modelling using an immersive virtual reality head mounted display plus physical practice of personalised movement strategies is a feasible and acceptable method of addressing freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s disease. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR12619000139178)
International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction (IJHCI), 2021
The nascent field of biodesign creates novel applications of life sciences through design methods... more The nascent field of biodesign creates novel applications of life sciences through design methods. Biodesign has the potential to shift interactive computational systems from using purely digital components to systems that integrate living organ-isms. However, there is a lack of understanding of biodesign and how it advances HCI. We present a review of 41 papers published in ACM Digital Library, IEEE Explore digital library and the Design and Applied Arts Index. We found that existing literature describes aspects of biodesign theory, design processes and artefacts, and educational environments, but not holistically. Based on the findings, we define biodesign as the application of the bioaffordances of an organism. We contribute the Bio-Inquiry model: a methodology connecting user-centred, scientific and critical inquiries to inform the design of interactive artefacts. We discuss the opportunities at the intersection of biodesign and HCI to consider the nature of future technologies.
CHI 2021 - ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2021
Volunteerism in the digital age offers many new possibilities and avenues for public participatio... more Volunteerism in the digital age offers many new possibilities and avenues for public participation. In this paper, we discuss volunteering as a form of work and how certain experiential aspects of HCI systems supporting the volunteers’ unpaid labour are instrumental in volunteer wellbeing. The sense of feeling close to others and experiencing relatedness is an important factor that can predict engagement and wellbeing of volunteers. Relatedness can be achieved in many ways, for instance through receiving expressions of gratitude. Through four co-design workshops with n=9 participants, we identified seven perceptions of volunteers regarding their relatedness experiences. This was achieved via a case study of an online teleconferencing platform where volunteers help train and assess medical students for their medical communication skills. Findings are further discussed to inform future design to support adequate level of formalness and emotional labour in online volunteering communities.
CHI 2021 - CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2021
Designing technologies to support mental health in children is a growing area of research. Howeve... more Designing technologies to support mental health in children is a growing area of research. However less is known about how to design with therapists for children with serious emotional behaviour issues. We conducted a contextual enquiry at an organisation that provides therapy treatment for children of trauma backgrounds. A co-design with therapists of a reflective storytelling activity provided insight into how to integrate design research activities with therapy approaches. Our analysis produced a framework summarising the important elements of a facilitated reflective experience. The framework is intended to guide the design of technologies to support safety, connection, and reflection in scaffolding social emotional learning towards improved emotional behaviour for children. Future directions for applying the framework include: augmenting existing therapy activities with technology, technology to support children learning how to self-regulate their emotions outside the clinic, and technology to help parents in emotion coaching their child.
TEI 2021 - proceedings of International Conference on Tangible and Embodied Interactions, 2021
Walking meditation is a form of mindfulness training, where the act of walking provides a rhythmi... more Walking meditation is a form of mindfulness training, where the act of walking provides a rhythmic meter for attentional focus. Numerous digital technologies have been created to support sitting meditation and walking practices, however, less explored is the influence of these technologies on the first person in-the-moment experience of walking meditation. In this paper, we present a study of group walking meditation,with and without an interactive soundscape that is modulated by one practitioner’s brain wave data. In orderto understand and design the interactive experience, we developed qualitative methods for data collection of the first person experience of walking meditation. Six workshops were conducted with both novice and more advanced practitioners, involving a guided walking meditation with body scan, structured writing and drawing exercises for elicitation and reflection, and a group interview. Our contribution is twofold: a descriptive model of the experience of walking meditation as represented by the analytic themes of shifting state, attention,self-regulation strategy, and immersion and reflection, together with body maps and experience timelines that visually represent patterns in the data; and a workbook comprising the set of phenomenologically inspired data collection methods, which helps participants articulate their first person experience and enhances their ability to reflect on the practice of walking meditation. The results provide insight into how practitioners divide and shift their attention between the rhythm of walking, breathing and the soundscape; and how some are able to harmonise the multiple dimensions towards a flow experience. Our study contributes to and provide resources for the experience design of interactive technologies to support mindfulness practices of walking meditation, as well as other practices where the mind/body experience is central.
CHI 2021 - Proceedings of International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2021
The home is a place of shelter, a place for family, and for separation from other parts of life, ... more The home is a place of shelter, a place for family, and for separation from other parts of life, such as work. Global challenges, the most pressing of which are currently the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change has forced extra roles into many homes and will continue to do so in the future. Biodesign integrates living organisms into designed solutions and can offer opportunities for new kinds of technologies to facilitate a transition to the home of the future. Many families have had to learn to work alongside each other, and technology has mediated a transition from standard models of operation for industries. These are the challenges of the 21st century that mandate careful thinking around interactive systems and innovations that support new ways of living and working at home. In this workshop, we will explore opportunities for biodesign interactive systems in the future home. We will bring together a broad group of researchers in HCI, design, and biosciences to build the biodesign community and discuss speculative design futures. The outcome will generate an understanding of the role of interactive biodesign systems at home, as a place with extended functionalities.
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WEBSITE: https://www.biopolisproject.com/chi2021-biodesign/
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CHI 2021 - Proceedings of International Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2021
Due to the evolving nature of technology and its impact on individuals, communities and society, ... more Due to the evolving nature of technology and its impact on individuals, communities and society, practitioners and designers in Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) are expected to consider ethics in their work. This role has inspired the development of a number of resources for practice, such as tools, frameworks and methods to tackle ethical issues in HCI. But these suffer from low adoption rate potentially because they are not yet part of the standard body of knowledge. To mitigate the issue, we argue that there is an urgent need for ethics education in HCI. Beyond defining ethics, an ethics curriculum must enable practitioners to reflect and allow consideration of intended and unintended consequences of the technologies they create from the ground up, rather than as a fix or an afterthought. In this co-design workshop, we aim to build upon existing practices and knowledge of ethics in HCI and work with the CHI community to enrich ethics curriculum. We will scaffold our collective understandings of the existing resources and create guidelines that support interactive educational experiences to support HCI ethics curriculum.
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WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/view/codesignethics
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OzCHI 2020 - Proceedings of Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, 2020
Concerns over the impact of technologies on psychological health have led to a growing interest i... more Concerns over the impact of technologies on psychological health have led to a growing interest in ‘digital wellbeing’ and related research within HCI. In order for technologies to better respect psychological needs, designers will need to incorporate wellbeing-supportive design knowledge and methods into their practice in ways that are practical and scalable. To this end, we developed and evaluated a workshop and resources intended to equip technology-makers with the research-based knowledge and skills necessary to design in ways that better support psychological wellbeing. We report on findings from two iterations of the workshop conducted with HCI and technology professionals. Results from surveys of 56 participants demonstrate that the final workshop was considered valuable, well-structured, and successful in improving knowledge of wellbeing psychology in ways transferrable to practice. We also share lessons learned in the process that might generalise to workshop development in HCI more broadly.
OzCHI 2020 - Proceedings of Australian Conference on Computer-Human Interaction, 2020
Mindfulness meditation is a beneficial approach to managing stress; however, establishing a pract... more Mindfulness meditation is a beneficial approach to managing stress; however, establishing a practice can be difficult for novice meditators. Interactive soundscapes using brainwave data offer new avenues, yet how to design such novel interfaces is underexplored. We present Mediscape, an interactive ocean soundscape modulated by brainwave data to teach awareness of breathing to novices. Through an exploratory study with 20 participants, we collected interview and questionnaire data on their experience with Mediscape and impact on their stress and wellbeing. Findings revealed the complex nature of the meditation experience for novices, analysed as key themes of shifting state, attention, self-regulation strategy, and immersion. Preliminary design guidelines are proposed to assist designers in creating interactive soundscapes for breath-awareness meditation, through consideration of how sound can be used for rhythmic entrainment of breathing, information on the state of meditation, and the creation of immersive environments.
International Congress of Parkinson's Disease and Movement Disorders, 2020
Objective: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of video self-modelling using a virtual... more Objective: To determine the feasibility and acceptability of video self-modelling using a virtual reality headset plus physical practice for managing freezing of gait (FOG) in people with Parkinson's disease (PD).
Background: Despite optimal medical and/or surgical intervention, FOG occurs commonly in people with PD, especially with increased disease duration and severity. Action observation via video self-modelling, combined with physical practice, has potential as a non-invasive intervention to reduce FOG.
Method: This was a single group pre/post-intervention pilot trial. Ten participants with PD and FOG have been recruited. A physiotherapist assessed participants in their homes to identify person-specific triggers for FOG. 180-degree videos of participants successfully performing their movement strategies to overcome FOG were developed. Participants watched their videos using a virtual reality headset, followed by physical practice of their strategies in their own homes. Primary outcome measures included feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included FOG physical tests and questionnaires, Timed Up and Go test, 10m walk test, Goal Attainment Scale, and Parkinson Anxiety Scale.
Results: Eight participants have completed the trial to date [Table 1]. One participant dropped out due to reasons unrelated to the trial. The recruitment rate was 19% and retention rate was 88%. Five participants fully adhered to the prescribed program and three participants completed between 25% to 75% of the program. Seven participants reported the intervention was helpful during the post intervention interviews. Four participants needed assistance from their carers to operate the headset and/or supervise their physical practice. One participant was unable to tolerate the use of the headset due to dyskinesia but was able to complete the program using a flatscreen device. No adverse events were reported during the intervention.
Multimodal Technologies and Interaction, 2020
While research on wellbeing within HCI is an active space, a gap between research and practice pe... more While research on wellbeing within HCI is an active space, a gap between research and practice persists. To tackle this, we sought to identify the practical needs of designers in taking wellbeing research into practice. We report on 15 semi-structured interviews with designers from four continents yielding insights into design tool use generally, and requirements for wellbeing design tools specifically. We then present five resulting design tool concepts, two of which were further developed into prototypes and tested in a workshop with 34 interaction professionals. Findings include seven desirable features and three desirable characteristics for wellbeing-supportive design tools, including that these tools should satisfy a need for proof, buy-in, and tangibility. We also contribute clarity around the notion of design for wellbeing and why it must be distinguished from design for positive emotions.
MOCO 2020 - Proceedings of International Conference on Movement and Computing, 2020
Developing interactive soundscapes for walking meditation has the potential to bring new opportun... more Developing interactive soundscapes for walking meditation has the potential to bring new opportunities of research in human-computer interaction and design. In this paper, we present our case study Sound of Mind, an interactive ambient soundscape that is transformed by one of the participant’s brainwave data in a group walking meditation practice.
[Authors: Karen Cochrane, Lian Loke, Mathew Leete, Andrew Campbell, Naseem Ahmadpour]
WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation, 2020
BACKGROUND: Deep breathing exercises are known to help decrease stress. Wearable and ambient comp... more BACKGROUND: Deep breathing exercises are known to help decrease stress. Wearable and ambient computing can help initiate and support deep breathing exercises. Most studies have focused on a single sensory modality for providing feedback on the quality of breathing and other physiological data.
OBJECTIVE: Our research compares different feedback modalities on an individual’s experience and ability to perform breath-based techniques at work.
METHODS: We designed three different interactive prototypes that used light, vibration and sound feedback modalities. We tested each prototype with 19 participants whilst they were performing typical work tasks in a naturalistic setting, followed by semi-structured interviews.
RESULTS: We found that sound was the most successful feedback for the majority of participants, followed by vibration and ambient light. We developed an analytic tool, the Extended Cycle of Awareness, to facilitate understanding of the patterns of awareness and the flow of experience generated by participant interaction with prototype systems that provide feedback on the quality of breathing. Participants followed one of three different types of patterns: (1) ignoring the feedback; (2) not understanding the feedback and being overwhelmed by it; (3) successfully using the feedback to initiate deep breathing and reflect on the change in the quality of breathing.
CONCLUSIONS: We offer a set of design recommendations for crafting interactive systems to support deep breathing at work, including personalization, designing for the cyclical process of attention and awareness, and designing for reflective practice.
[Authors: Karen Cochrane, Lian Loke, Naseem Ahmadpour, Thecla Schiphorst, Andrew Campbell, Claudia Núñez-Pacheco]
JMIR Serious games, 2020
Background:
Traditional methods of delivering Advanced Life Support (ALS) training and re-accr... more Background:
Traditional methods of delivering Advanced Life Support (ALS) training and re-accreditation are resource intensive and costly. Interactive simulations and gameplay in Virtual Reality (VR) technology can complement traditional training processes as a cost-effective, engaging and flexible training tool.
Objective:
This exploratory study aimed to explore the specific user needs of clinicians engaging with a new interactive ALS-SimVR (Advanced Life Support Simulation in VR) application to inform the ongoing development of such training platforms.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced clinicians (n=10, age M=40.9 years old) following a single playthrough of the application. All clinicians were directly involved in the delivery of ALS in both the clinical and educational settings (M=12.4 years ALS experience; all with minimal or no VR experience). Interviews were supplemented with an assessment of usability (using heuristic evaluation) and presence.
Results:
The ALS-SimVR training app was well received. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five main areas of user needs that can inform future design efforts for creating engaging training VR apps: affordances, agency, diverse input modalities, mental models and advanced roles.
Conclusions:
This study was conducted to identify user needs of clinicians engaging with ALS-SimVR. However, our findings revealed broader design considerations that can be crucial in guiding future work in this area. While aligning the training scenarios with accepted teaching algorithms is important, our findings reveal improving the user experience and engagement requires careful attention to technology specific issues such as input modalities.
JMIR, 2020
Background: Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a powerful tool for augmenting patient experience ... more Background: Virtual Reality (VR) technology is a powerful tool for augmenting patient experience in pediatric settings. Incorporating the needs and values of stakeholders in the design of VR apps in healthcare can contribute to better outcomes and meaningful experiences for patients.
Objective: This study follows a multi-perspective approach to investigate how future VR apps can be designed to improve the periprocedural experiences of children and adolescents, particularly those with severe anxieties.
Method: This study conducted research with clinicians through a focus group (n=4) and survey (n=56). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children and adolescents in an immunization clinic (n=3) and perioperative setting (n=65) and with parents and carers in the immunization clinic (n=3) and perioperative setting (n=35).
Result: Qualitative data was examined to determine the experience needs, psychological needs, intervention strategies and design strategies that may contribute to better experiences for children in three age groups of 4-7, 8-11 and 12-17 years old. Quantitative data was used to identify areas of priority for future VR interventions.
Conclusion: A set of ten design considerations are proposed for creating future VR experiences for pediatric patients. Enhancing patient experience may be achieved by combining multiple VR solutions through a holistic approach considering the roles of clinicians and carers and the temporality of the patient’s experience. This involves delivering personalized solutions to fulfill the needs of pediatric patients before and during the medical procedure. In particular, communication should be placed at the center of pre-procedure solutions while emotional goals can be embedded into a procedure-focused VR app to help patients shift their focus in a meaningful way to build skills to manage their anxiety.
DIS 2020 - International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems , 2020
The nascent field of biodesign uses the biological affordances of organisms to address some user ... more The nascent field of biodesign uses the biological affordances of organisms to address some user need. These can range from the development of novel materials, which the designer actively investigates, to applications of synthetic biology or the creation of bio-digital hybrid systems. Within biodesign there is a question for interaction design: what will interactive systems look like in a guided and grown environment, rather than a built environment? In this workshop , we will explore new technologies that rely on symbiotic relationships between the user and organisms that participate in interactive systems. The goal of this workshop is to engage the interaction design community in exploring new aspects of designing for living computational systems.
Citation:
Phillip Gough, Larissa Pschetz, Naseem Ahmadpour, Leigh-Anne Hepburn, Clare Cooper, Carolina Ramirez-Figueroa, Oron Catts (2020). The Nature of Biodesigned Systems: Directions for HCI, In Proceedings of International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems DIS'20, ACM Digital Library.
DIS 2020 - Proceedings of International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems , 2020
Design fiction enables HCI and design researchers to co-create, explore and speculate the future.... more Design fiction enables HCI and design researchers to co-create, explore and speculate the future. It is growing in popularity given the growing complexities of emerging HCI systems and innovations. Diegetic props (like sound, videos, images) are sometimes used in design fiction to blur the lines between imagination and reality. These props enable the designers to be empathetic, feel present in the fiction as they investigate the complexity of technologies explored within the fiction, critique these technologies and think about their consequences. With a higher level of immersion and sense of embodiment, Virtual Reality (VR) can be a powerful tool for mediating and creating design fiction. However, there are few examples of VR as platform for design fiction. This workshop aims to investigate new opportunities for communicating, critiquing and co-creating design fiction narratives in immersive VR environments.
Citation:
Ajit. G Pillai, Naseem Ahmadpour, Soojeong Yoo, A. Baki Kocaballi, Sonja Pedell, Vinoth Pandian Sermuga Pandian, Sarah Suleri (2020). Communicate, Critique and Co-create, (CCC) Future Technologies through Design Fictions in VR Environment. In Proceedings of International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems DIS'20, ACM Digital Library.
DRS 2020 - Proceedings of Design Research Society International Biennial Conference, 2020
With the advent of digital technology, many individuals completely or partially transition to dig... more With the advent of digital technology, many individuals completely or partially transition to digital platforms for volunteering. Many of these platforms do not take volunteer needs, values and experiences into account in design. Additionally, many online experiences are different to face-to-face ones as volunteers find it challenging to relate to the beneficiaries or to express/feel gratitude. In this paper, we used generative methods and tools in two codesign workshops with volunteers in an educational program involving both online and physical modules. Based on findings relevant to the mode of volunteering, people, self and future desires, we identified four areas of design opportunities to foster relatedness and gratitude in online volunteering and reduce disparities between online and physical volunteering experiences. We contribute new directions for improving the design of digital volunteering platforms through personalised solutions that support gratitude, social bonding, better communication of shared experiences and goals, and community building.
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Papers by Naseem Ahmadpour
Despite optimal medical and/or surgical intervention, freezing of gait occurs commonly in people with Parkinson’s disease, leading to reduced mobility, falls, poor quality of life and increased healthcare costs. Action observation via video self-modelling, combined with physical practice, has potential as a non-invasive intervention to reduce freezing of gait.
Objective:
To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a home-based, personalised video self-modelling intervention delivered via a virtual reality head mounted display to reduce freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s disease. Secondary aims included investigating the potential effect of this intervention on freezing of gait, mobility and anxiety.
Methods:
A single group pre/post mixed methods pilot trial. Ten participants with Parkinson’s disease and freezing of gait were recruited. A physiotherapist assessed participants in their homes to identify person-specific triggers of freezing and developed individualised movement strategies to overcome freezing of gait. 180-degree videos of participants successfully performing their movement strategies were created. Participants watched their videos using a virtual reality head mounted display, followed by physical practice of their strategies in their own homes over a six-week intervention period. Primary outcome measures included feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included freezing of gait physical tests and questionnaires, Timed Up and Go test, 10m walk test, Goal Attainment Scale, and Parkinson Anxiety Scale.
Results:
Ten participants were recruited. The recruitment rate was 24% and retention rate was 90%. Adherence to the intervention was high, with participants completing a mean of 84% for the prescribed video viewing and a mean of 100% for the prescribed physical practice. One participant used the virtual reality head mounted display for one week and completed the rest of the intervention using a flatscreen device due to a gradual worsening of his motion sickness. No other adverse events occurred during the intervention or assessments. Most participants found using the head mounted display to view their videos interesting and enjoyable and would choose to use this intervention to manage their freezing of gait in the future. Five themes were constructed from interview data: reflections when seeing myself; my experience of using the virtual reality system; the role of the virtual reality system in supporting my learning; developing a deeper understanding on how to manage my freezing of gait; and impact of the intervention on my daily activities. Overall, there were minimal changes to the freezing of gait, mobility or anxiety measures from baseline to post-intervention, although there was substantial variability between participants. The intervention showed potential in reducing anxiety in participants with high levels of anxiety.
Conclusions:
Video self-modelling using an immersive virtual reality head mounted display plus physical practice of personalised movement strategies is a feasible and acceptable method of addressing freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s disease. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR12619000139178)
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WEBSITE: https://www.biopolisproject.com/chi2021-biodesign/
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WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/view/codesignethics
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Background: Despite optimal medical and/or surgical intervention, FOG occurs commonly in people with PD, especially with increased disease duration and severity. Action observation via video self-modelling, combined with physical practice, has potential as a non-invasive intervention to reduce FOG.
Method: This was a single group pre/post-intervention pilot trial. Ten participants with PD and FOG have been recruited. A physiotherapist assessed participants in their homes to identify person-specific triggers for FOG. 180-degree videos of participants successfully performing their movement strategies to overcome FOG were developed. Participants watched their videos using a virtual reality headset, followed by physical practice of their strategies in their own homes. Primary outcome measures included feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included FOG physical tests and questionnaires, Timed Up and Go test, 10m walk test, Goal Attainment Scale, and Parkinson Anxiety Scale.
Results: Eight participants have completed the trial to date [Table 1]. One participant dropped out due to reasons unrelated to the trial. The recruitment rate was 19% and retention rate was 88%. Five participants fully adhered to the prescribed program and three participants completed between 25% to 75% of the program. Seven participants reported the intervention was helpful during the post intervention interviews. Four participants needed assistance from their carers to operate the headset and/or supervise their physical practice. One participant was unable to tolerate the use of the headset due to dyskinesia but was able to complete the program using a flatscreen device. No adverse events were reported during the intervention.
[Authors: Karen Cochrane, Lian Loke, Mathew Leete, Andrew Campbell, Naseem Ahmadpour]
OBJECTIVE: Our research compares different feedback modalities on an individual’s experience and ability to perform breath-based techniques at work.
METHODS: We designed three different interactive prototypes that used light, vibration and sound feedback modalities. We tested each prototype with 19 participants whilst they were performing typical work tasks in a naturalistic setting, followed by semi-structured interviews.
RESULTS: We found that sound was the most successful feedback for the majority of participants, followed by vibration and ambient light. We developed an analytic tool, the Extended Cycle of Awareness, to facilitate understanding of the patterns of awareness and the flow of experience generated by participant interaction with prototype systems that provide feedback on the quality of breathing. Participants followed one of three different types of patterns: (1) ignoring the feedback; (2) not understanding the feedback and being overwhelmed by it; (3) successfully using the feedback to initiate deep breathing and reflect on the change in the quality of breathing.
CONCLUSIONS: We offer a set of design recommendations for crafting interactive systems to support deep breathing at work, including personalization, designing for the cyclical process of attention and awareness, and designing for reflective practice.
[Authors: Karen Cochrane, Lian Loke, Naseem Ahmadpour, Thecla Schiphorst, Andrew Campbell, Claudia Núñez-Pacheco]
Traditional methods of delivering Advanced Life Support (ALS) training and re-accreditation are resource intensive and costly. Interactive simulations and gameplay in Virtual Reality (VR) technology can complement traditional training processes as a cost-effective, engaging and flexible training tool.
Objective:
This exploratory study aimed to explore the specific user needs of clinicians engaging with a new interactive ALS-SimVR (Advanced Life Support Simulation in VR) application to inform the ongoing development of such training platforms.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced clinicians (n=10, age M=40.9 years old) following a single playthrough of the application. All clinicians were directly involved in the delivery of ALS in both the clinical and educational settings (M=12.4 years ALS experience; all with minimal or no VR experience). Interviews were supplemented with an assessment of usability (using heuristic evaluation) and presence.
Results:
The ALS-SimVR training app was well received. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five main areas of user needs that can inform future design efforts for creating engaging training VR apps: affordances, agency, diverse input modalities, mental models and advanced roles.
Conclusions:
This study was conducted to identify user needs of clinicians engaging with ALS-SimVR. However, our findings revealed broader design considerations that can be crucial in guiding future work in this area. While aligning the training scenarios with accepted teaching algorithms is important, our findings reveal improving the user experience and engagement requires careful attention to technology specific issues such as input modalities.
Objective: This study follows a multi-perspective approach to investigate how future VR apps can be designed to improve the periprocedural experiences of children and adolescents, particularly those with severe anxieties.
Method: This study conducted research with clinicians through a focus group (n=4) and survey (n=56). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children and adolescents in an immunization clinic (n=3) and perioperative setting (n=65) and with parents and carers in the immunization clinic (n=3) and perioperative setting (n=35).
Result: Qualitative data was examined to determine the experience needs, psychological needs, intervention strategies and design strategies that may contribute to better experiences for children in three age groups of 4-7, 8-11 and 12-17 years old. Quantitative data was used to identify areas of priority for future VR interventions.
Conclusion: A set of ten design considerations are proposed for creating future VR experiences for pediatric patients. Enhancing patient experience may be achieved by combining multiple VR solutions through a holistic approach considering the roles of clinicians and carers and the temporality of the patient’s experience. This involves delivering personalized solutions to fulfill the needs of pediatric patients before and during the medical procedure. In particular, communication should be placed at the center of pre-procedure solutions while emotional goals can be embedded into a procedure-focused VR app to help patients shift their focus in a meaningful way to build skills to manage their anxiety.
Citation:
Phillip Gough, Larissa Pschetz, Naseem Ahmadpour, Leigh-Anne Hepburn, Clare Cooper, Carolina Ramirez-Figueroa, Oron Catts (2020). The Nature of Biodesigned Systems: Directions for HCI, In Proceedings of International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems DIS'20, ACM Digital Library.
Citation:
Ajit. G Pillai, Naseem Ahmadpour, Soojeong Yoo, A. Baki Kocaballi, Sonja Pedell, Vinoth Pandian Sermuga Pandian, Sarah Suleri (2020). Communicate, Critique and Co-create, (CCC) Future Technologies through Design Fictions in VR Environment. In Proceedings of International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems DIS'20, ACM Digital Library.
Despite optimal medical and/or surgical intervention, freezing of gait occurs commonly in people with Parkinson’s disease, leading to reduced mobility, falls, poor quality of life and increased healthcare costs. Action observation via video self-modelling, combined with physical practice, has potential as a non-invasive intervention to reduce freezing of gait.
Objective:
To determine the feasibility and acceptability of a home-based, personalised video self-modelling intervention delivered via a virtual reality head mounted display to reduce freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s disease. Secondary aims included investigating the potential effect of this intervention on freezing of gait, mobility and anxiety.
Methods:
A single group pre/post mixed methods pilot trial. Ten participants with Parkinson’s disease and freezing of gait were recruited. A physiotherapist assessed participants in their homes to identify person-specific triggers of freezing and developed individualised movement strategies to overcome freezing of gait. 180-degree videos of participants successfully performing their movement strategies were created. Participants watched their videos using a virtual reality head mounted display, followed by physical practice of their strategies in their own homes over a six-week intervention period. Primary outcome measures included feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included freezing of gait physical tests and questionnaires, Timed Up and Go test, 10m walk test, Goal Attainment Scale, and Parkinson Anxiety Scale.
Results:
Ten participants were recruited. The recruitment rate was 24% and retention rate was 90%. Adherence to the intervention was high, with participants completing a mean of 84% for the prescribed video viewing and a mean of 100% for the prescribed physical practice. One participant used the virtual reality head mounted display for one week and completed the rest of the intervention using a flatscreen device due to a gradual worsening of his motion sickness. No other adverse events occurred during the intervention or assessments. Most participants found using the head mounted display to view their videos interesting and enjoyable and would choose to use this intervention to manage their freezing of gait in the future. Five themes were constructed from interview data: reflections when seeing myself; my experience of using the virtual reality system; the role of the virtual reality system in supporting my learning; developing a deeper understanding on how to manage my freezing of gait; and impact of the intervention on my daily activities. Overall, there were minimal changes to the freezing of gait, mobility or anxiety measures from baseline to post-intervention, although there was substantial variability between participants. The intervention showed potential in reducing anxiety in participants with high levels of anxiety.
Conclusions:
Video self-modelling using an immersive virtual reality head mounted display plus physical practice of personalised movement strategies is a feasible and acceptable method of addressing freezing of gait in people with Parkinson’s disease. Clinical Trial: Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR12619000139178)
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WEBSITE: https://www.biopolisproject.com/chi2021-biodesign/
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WEBSITE: https://sites.google.com/view/codesignethics
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Background: Despite optimal medical and/or surgical intervention, FOG occurs commonly in people with PD, especially with increased disease duration and severity. Action observation via video self-modelling, combined with physical practice, has potential as a non-invasive intervention to reduce FOG.
Method: This was a single group pre/post-intervention pilot trial. Ten participants with PD and FOG have been recruited. A physiotherapist assessed participants in their homes to identify person-specific triggers for FOG. 180-degree videos of participants successfully performing their movement strategies to overcome FOG were developed. Participants watched their videos using a virtual reality headset, followed by physical practice of their strategies in their own homes. Primary outcome measures included feasibility and acceptability of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures included FOG physical tests and questionnaires, Timed Up and Go test, 10m walk test, Goal Attainment Scale, and Parkinson Anxiety Scale.
Results: Eight participants have completed the trial to date [Table 1]. One participant dropped out due to reasons unrelated to the trial. The recruitment rate was 19% and retention rate was 88%. Five participants fully adhered to the prescribed program and three participants completed between 25% to 75% of the program. Seven participants reported the intervention was helpful during the post intervention interviews. Four participants needed assistance from their carers to operate the headset and/or supervise their physical practice. One participant was unable to tolerate the use of the headset due to dyskinesia but was able to complete the program using a flatscreen device. No adverse events were reported during the intervention.
[Authors: Karen Cochrane, Lian Loke, Mathew Leete, Andrew Campbell, Naseem Ahmadpour]
OBJECTIVE: Our research compares different feedback modalities on an individual’s experience and ability to perform breath-based techniques at work.
METHODS: We designed three different interactive prototypes that used light, vibration and sound feedback modalities. We tested each prototype with 19 participants whilst they were performing typical work tasks in a naturalistic setting, followed by semi-structured interviews.
RESULTS: We found that sound was the most successful feedback for the majority of participants, followed by vibration and ambient light. We developed an analytic tool, the Extended Cycle of Awareness, to facilitate understanding of the patterns of awareness and the flow of experience generated by participant interaction with prototype systems that provide feedback on the quality of breathing. Participants followed one of three different types of patterns: (1) ignoring the feedback; (2) not understanding the feedback and being overwhelmed by it; (3) successfully using the feedback to initiate deep breathing and reflect on the change in the quality of breathing.
CONCLUSIONS: We offer a set of design recommendations for crafting interactive systems to support deep breathing at work, including personalization, designing for the cyclical process of attention and awareness, and designing for reflective practice.
[Authors: Karen Cochrane, Lian Loke, Naseem Ahmadpour, Thecla Schiphorst, Andrew Campbell, Claudia Núñez-Pacheco]
Traditional methods of delivering Advanced Life Support (ALS) training and re-accreditation are resource intensive and costly. Interactive simulations and gameplay in Virtual Reality (VR) technology can complement traditional training processes as a cost-effective, engaging and flexible training tool.
Objective:
This exploratory study aimed to explore the specific user needs of clinicians engaging with a new interactive ALS-SimVR (Advanced Life Support Simulation in VR) application to inform the ongoing development of such training platforms.
Methods:
Semi-structured interviews were conducted with experienced clinicians (n=10, age M=40.9 years old) following a single playthrough of the application. All clinicians were directly involved in the delivery of ALS in both the clinical and educational settings (M=12.4 years ALS experience; all with minimal or no VR experience). Interviews were supplemented with an assessment of usability (using heuristic evaluation) and presence.
Results:
The ALS-SimVR training app was well received. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed five main areas of user needs that can inform future design efforts for creating engaging training VR apps: affordances, agency, diverse input modalities, mental models and advanced roles.
Conclusions:
This study was conducted to identify user needs of clinicians engaging with ALS-SimVR. However, our findings revealed broader design considerations that can be crucial in guiding future work in this area. While aligning the training scenarios with accepted teaching algorithms is important, our findings reveal improving the user experience and engagement requires careful attention to technology specific issues such as input modalities.
Objective: This study follows a multi-perspective approach to investigate how future VR apps can be designed to improve the periprocedural experiences of children and adolescents, particularly those with severe anxieties.
Method: This study conducted research with clinicians through a focus group (n=4) and survey (n=56). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with children and adolescents in an immunization clinic (n=3) and perioperative setting (n=65) and with parents and carers in the immunization clinic (n=3) and perioperative setting (n=35).
Result: Qualitative data was examined to determine the experience needs, psychological needs, intervention strategies and design strategies that may contribute to better experiences for children in three age groups of 4-7, 8-11 and 12-17 years old. Quantitative data was used to identify areas of priority for future VR interventions.
Conclusion: A set of ten design considerations are proposed for creating future VR experiences for pediatric patients. Enhancing patient experience may be achieved by combining multiple VR solutions through a holistic approach considering the roles of clinicians and carers and the temporality of the patient’s experience. This involves delivering personalized solutions to fulfill the needs of pediatric patients before and during the medical procedure. In particular, communication should be placed at the center of pre-procedure solutions while emotional goals can be embedded into a procedure-focused VR app to help patients shift their focus in a meaningful way to build skills to manage their anxiety.
Citation:
Phillip Gough, Larissa Pschetz, Naseem Ahmadpour, Leigh-Anne Hepburn, Clare Cooper, Carolina Ramirez-Figueroa, Oron Catts (2020). The Nature of Biodesigned Systems: Directions for HCI, In Proceedings of International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems DIS'20, ACM Digital Library.
Citation:
Ajit. G Pillai, Naseem Ahmadpour, Soojeong Yoo, A. Baki Kocaballi, Sonja Pedell, Vinoth Pandian Sermuga Pandian, Sarah Suleri (2020). Communicate, Critique and Co-create, (CCC) Future Technologies through Design Fictions in VR Environment. In Proceedings of International Conference on Designing Interactive Systems DIS'20, ACM Digital Library.
The book features 60 methods that were selected from across the design disciplines of product design, service design, design innovation, interaction design and user experience design. The easy-to-navigate structure of the book allows people new to design to learn about methods at their own pace and in their own time. For the practicing designer, the book is an excellent reference guide: the overview allows them to quickly identify which methods they might need to apply depending on the phase of their own design project.
List of authors:
Martin Tomitsch, Cara Wrigley, Madeleine Borthwick, Naseem Ahmadpour, Jessica Frawley, A. Baki Kocaballi, Claudia Núñez-Pacheco, Karla Straker, Lian Loke
Ahmadpour, N., Robert, J-M., Lindgaard, G. (2016). Aircraft seat comfort experience. In: G. D. Bucchianico, A. Vallicelli, N. A. Stanton, and S. J. Landry (eds) (2016), Human Factors in Transportation: Social and Technological Evolution Across Maritime, Road, Rail, and Aviation Domains, Ch.28, 399-411, FL: CRC press.
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