Design of an Interactive Nostalgic Amusement Device with User-Friendly Tangible Interfaces for Improving the Health of Older Adults

Design of a Gaze-Controlled Interactive Art System for the Elderly to Enjoy Life

The impact of global population aging on older adults' health and emotional well-being is examined in this study, emphasizing innovative technological solutions to address their diverse needs. Changes in physical and mental functions due to aging, along with emotional challenges that necessitate attention, are highlighted. Gaze estimation and interactive art are utilized to develop an interactive system tailored for elderly users, where interaction is simplified through eye movements to reduce technological barriers and provide a soothing art experience. By employing multi-sensory stimulation, the system aims to evoke positive emotions and facilitate meaningful activities, promoting active aging. Named "Natural Rhythm through Eyes", it allows for users to interact with nature-themed environments via eye movements. User feedback via questionnaires and expert interviews was collected during public demonstrations in elderly settings to validate the system's effectiveness in providing usability, pleasure, and interactive experience for the elderly. Key findings include the following: (1) Enhanced usability of the gaze estimation interface for elderly users. (2) Increased enjoyment and engagement through nature-themed interactive art. (3) Positive influence on active aging through the integration of gaze estimation and interactive art. These findings underscore technology's potential to enhance well-being and quality of life for older adults navigating aging challenges.

Designing a Tangible User Interface (TUI) for the Elderly Based on Their Motivations and Game Elements

The elderly population has grown significantly in recent years, requiring strategies focused on promoting active aging to improve health and well-being. It may be achieved in many ways, including using technology for this population. We propose an interactive system for older adults based on a tangible user interface. A group of 10 experts conducted a heuristic evaluation of a system of this type utilizing a questionnaire and obtaining satisfactory results. This study evaluated the older adult population's fun and pervasive game experience. The results will provide a basis for continuing to build this interactive system to promote active aging in older adults, either at the cognitive or physical level, depending on the applied approach.

The Inner Complexities of Multimodal Medical Data: Bitmap-Based 3D Printing for Surgical Planning Using Dynamic Physiology

Motivated by the need to develop more informative and data-rich patient-specific presurgical planning models, we present a high-resolution method that enables the tangible replication of multimodal medical data. By leveraging voxel-level control of multimaterial three-dimensional (3D) printing, our method allows for the digital integration of disparate medical data types, such as functional magnetic resonance imaging, tractography, and four-dimensional flow, overlaid upon traditional magnetic resonance imaging and computed tomography data. While permitting the explicit translation of multimodal medical data into physical objects, this approach also bypasses the need to process data into mesh-based boundary representations, alleviating the potential loss and remodeling of information. After evaluating the optical characteristics of test specimens generated with our correlative data-driven method, we culminate with multimodal real-world 3D-printed examples, thus highlighting current and potential applications for improved surgical planning, communication, and clinical decision-making through this approach.

Using Digital Technology to Design a Simple Interactive System for Nostalgic Gaming to Promote the Health of Slightly Disabled Elderly People

An interactive digital gaming system with simple tangible interfaces is proposed for use by slightly disabled elderly people to promote their health and enjoyment of playful aging. The system simulates a rice threshing machine with nostalgic and entertaining functions expected to bring better life quality to older adults. Initially, pieces of literature were reviewed to derive relevant design principles. A prototype system was constructed accordingly and refined according to the invited older users' comments. The refined system was performed subsequently by slightly disabled elderly people, followed by a questionnaire survey conducted to collect their opinions. The opinion data were analyzed statistically by SPSS and AMOS to be reliable and valid. In addition, interviews were conducted with the users and experts were invited to collect comments on the system's usability, which were then evaluated to reveal several findings about the system's effectiveness: (1) digital products related to life experiences are more acceptable to slightly disabled elderly people, promoting their willingness to play games to achieve active aging; (2) simple system interfaces requiring no complicated limb functions are appropriate for the slightly disabled elderly people; and (3) digital gaming has the effects of training slightly disabled elderly peoples' cognitive and motor abilities as well as strengthening their body and mind.