Effects of an interactive handgrip game on surgical patients requiring intensive care: An assessor-blinded randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of an interactive handgrip game on psychological distress and handgrip strength among critically ill surgical patients. DESIGN: A randomised controlled trial. SETTING: A surgical intensive care unit. INTERVENTION: Participants were enrolled in the program within 48 hours of admission to the intensive care unit. Patients in the intervention group played a 20-minute interactive handgrip game twice daily for a maximum of three days in the intensive care unit in addition to routinely passive physical rehabilitation. Patients in the routine care group had a daily target of 20 min of passive physical rehabilitation as needed. MEASUREMENT: The primary outcomes included depression, anxiety, and stress measured using the shortened version of the Depression Anxiety Stress Score scale. The secondary outcomes were perceived sleep evaluated using the Richards-Campbell Sleep Questionnaire, delirium assessed using the Intensive Care Delirium Screening Checklist, and handgrip strength measured using handgrip dynamometry within a handgrip device. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-seven patients were eligible and 70 patients were recruited in the intervention (n = 35) and routine care groups (n = 35). The patients in the intervention group had lower scores (median = 6.0, 4.0, and 12.0) for depression, anxiety, and stress compared with those in the routine care group (12.0, 12.0, and 20.0; all p < 0.05). The interactive handgrip game did not significantly improve sleep quality and prevent the occurrence of delirium (both p > 0.05). The patients who received the interactive handgrip game intervention exhibited significantly enhanced handgrip strength in both hands over time (both p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: An interactive handgrip game may benefit the psychological well-being and handgrip strength of critically ill patients. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Interactive handgrip games is effective active exercise which should be integrated into routine nursing practice.

GroundFlow: Liquid-based Haptics for Simulating Fluid on the Ground in Virtual Reality.

Utilizing haptic devices to enhance the immersive experience is a direct approach in virtual reality (VR) applications. Various studies develop haptic feedback using force, wind, and thermal mechanisms. However, most haptic devices simulate feedback in dry environments such as the living room, prairie, or city. Water-related environments are thus less explored, for example, rivers, beaches, and swimming pools. In this paper we present GroundFlow, a liquid-based haptic floor system for simulating fluid on the ground in VR. We discuss design considerations and propose a system architecture and interaction design. We conduct two user studies to assist in the design of a multiple-flow feedback mechanism, develop three applications to explore the potential uses of the mechanism, and consider the limitations and challenges thereof to inform VR developers and haptic practitioners.

A Compelling Virtual Tour of the Dunhuang Cave With an Immersive Head-Mounted Display.

The Dunhuang Caves are the home to the largest Buddhist art sites in the world and are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Over time, the murals have been damaged by both humans and nature. In this article, we present an immersive virtual reality system for exploring spatial cultural heritage, which utilizes the digitized data from the Dunhuang Research Academy to represent the virtual environment of the cave. In this system, the interaction techniques that allow users to flexibly experience any of the artifacts or displays contribute to their understanding of the cultural heritage. Additionally, we evaluated the system by conducting a user study to examine the extent of user acquaintance after the entire experience. Our result has shown what participants learn from the spatial context and augmented information in the VR. This can be used as design considerations for developing other spatial heritages.