Saturday, May 31, 2025
5/31/2025
Personalized Music Biofeedback Rehabilitation for Adolescents with Visual Impairment - Problem: Persons with blindness or visual impairment (BVI) have poor proprioception and postural control required for functional activities of daily living. Furthermore, 50-75% of adolescents with BVI have confounding disabilities that further complicate rehabilitation efforts, and keeping adolescents engaged in rehabilitation can be challenging. Clinicians must find creative methods to convey desired orientation and movement and keep adolescents with BVI engaged in rehabilitation. Proposed Solution: I propose a personalized music biofeedback rehabilitation system that can improve rehabilitation engagement and outcomes for adolescents with BVI. Based on discussions with therapists working with adolescents with BVI, we will begin this research with three use-cases for this system, where preferred music (chosen by each participant) will play when the desired movement is being performed. Methods: Case 1 aims to minimize head sway in adolescents with BVI. This is accomplished by placing an inertial measurement unit (IMU) on a headband placed on the participant’s head. Music will only play when the head is not swaying. Case 2 aims to improve upright head posture in adolescents with BVI. The same headband will be used, except music will only play when the head is being held upright. Case 3 aims to encourage proper sweeping speed and orientation of the White Cane, the cane used by persons with BVI to convey information about the environment. An IMU will be placed on the white cane and music will only play when the white cane is in the correct orientation and sweeping with a suggested speed. We will design and evaluate each use-case with two participants. There will be seven data collections for each participant, spanning seven weeks: a pre session, a familiarization session, four training sessions, and a post session. Within each training session there will be baseline trials without music biofeedback, training trials with music biofeedback, and then post trials without music biofeedback. Each session will closely mimic the participants regular therapy sessions. Intended Outcomes: I will analyze the feasibility and immediate effects of this music biofeedback training system by comparing the baseline trials with the training trials to determine if music biofeedback is effective at improving the desired rehabilitative activity. I will also compare the baseline trials with the post trials within each training session to determine if there is an immediate effect to music biofeedback training. Finally, I will compare the pre session and post session data to determine if there is a longitudinal effect of the music biofeedback system. The results of this study will inform whether personalized music biofeedback is a useful tool to improve rehabilitation outcomes for adolescents with BVI.
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