e-Health, Winner 2015

Name of Project: Run Tropica
Project Website: www.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk
Name of Organization: University of Colombo School of Computing
Organization Website: www.ucsc.cmb.ac.lk

Video game helps rehabilitate Sri Lanka cerebral palsy patients

In January 2015, the University of Colombo School of Computing launched a project called “runTropica” based on gamification or the concept of applying game mechanics and game design techniques to engage and motivate people to achieve their goals. By implementing gamification into a rehabilitation process, the Run Tropica project looks to improve motivation and persistence among patients as previous research has demonstrated that the general reception of rehabilitation exercises has improved drastically when a game element was introduced. The project aims to develop a prototype product of an active video game virtual rehabilitation system that targets physical therapy of the lower limbs of the user. The target group of this product is the paediatric population with brain injuries that have rendered disabilities in the lower limbs e.g cerebral palsy (damage to the motor control centres of the developing brain), motor disorders etc. Run Tropica is a 2D infinite runner where the player’s performance is based on his/her ability to collect items and how far they can run before dying. Obstacles get in the player’s way and enemies try to stop the player. The player must dodge these obstacles and travel as far as possible to obtain a higher score. The game functions are controlled by lower limb movements of the user detected via Microsoft Kinect sensor. On the start of a game, the player is given the choice of a specific movement, for example: a knee flexion. Upon performing the movement, the in-game character will react to the movement. For example, performing a full flex will have the character jump higher, or if the player has a special flying power up, the player is able to hold their knee flex at a height to sustain their character in mid-air. The project is now being deployed at Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children in Sri Lanka.

Name of Project: TraumaLink
Project Website: www.traumalink.net
Name of Organization: TraumaLink Bangladesh
Organization Website: www.traumalink.net

Emergency response system to help Bangladesh traffic injury victims

Launched in November 2014, TraumaLink is a volunteer-based emergency response system built to tackle the barriers of travel time and cost for traffic injury victims in Bangladesh where there is no public emergency response system. TraumaLink trains volunteer first responders from the local community, equips them with locally sourced first aid supplies, and uses its 24/7 call centre to rapidly dispatch them to crash scenes. Its well-publicised hotline number allows bystanders to quickly call and activate an emergency response. When there is an accident, a passerby or injured person can call TraumaLink’s hotline number to speak to a trained call centre agent. This agent enters the location of the crash and the number of injured patients into its proprietary call centre software. The software then utilises an embedded algorithm to dispatch an appropriate number of trained volunteers prioritised by their proximity to the crash scene. The volunteers receive an SMS that tells them where the crash has occurred and they can respond with an SMS or call to say if they plan to respond. If they do respond, they can then SMS or call to let the call centre know when they have arrived. Finally, they inform the call centre operator to receive guidance about the nearest appropriate medical facilities for the injured crash victims. All of these services are provided to the patients free of charge. This model has already been proven effective at the project’s pilot site in the Daudkandi Upazila of Bangladesh, where it has covered 15 kilometres of the dangerous Dhaka-Chittagong highway. In the first eigth months of operations since November 2014, TraumaLink has treated 217 injured patients and its volunteers responded successfully to all 120 incident calls. In 95 per cent of cases, they arrived at the crash scene in five minutes or less.