Project description
Videogames for patients with cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy affects motor function; it is a neurological disorder caused by damage to the brain before, during or immediately after birth. While there is no cure for cerebral palsy, treatment, appropriate care and surgeries can help to improve quality of life by maximising patients' independence. The EU-funded AbleGames project is developing an innovative social-collaboration gaming platform to help people with cerebral palsy improve through physical therapy and peer community inclusion. Unlike most platforms available today, AbleGames’ platform will use artificial intelligence technologies to constantly adapt to each individual’s abilities, so as to foster rehabilitation progress and social collaboration. Specifically, the players will interact with non-immersive virtual reality scenarios using balance sensors and smart low-cost vision systems based on machine learning models.
Objective
Cerebral Palsy (CP) is a frequent neurological disorder (2 per 1k births). The EU has 0.7m of 17m persons with CP globally. Therapy can cost €45k/year - a huge burden on families. Playing digital games, as Europe 2020 identifies, can promote health & well-being for people with such disabilities. AbleGames will be a disruptively innovative social-collaboration serious gaming platform to personalise & improve the physical therapy, peer community inclusion, quality of life & enjoyment of people with CP. There are many game platforms (e.g. Steam, Origin, Epic), but none for, or usable by, people with CP. Our platform will constantly adapt multiplayer top-quality games to each individual’s abilities to foster rehabilitation progress & social collaboration using AI technologies. The players will interact with non-immersive virtual reality scenarios using balance sensors & smart low-cost vision systems based on machine learning models. A TRL9 commercial service will be on the market within 3 years, using the innovative concepts proven in the successful GABLE H2020 serious gaming project (GA732363). Currently at TRL6, the system’s productisation will be fast-tracked to operate/demonstrate it at diverse reference clinics. HuginTech (a major provider of games on multiple platforms) will drive its commercialisation & service productisation. Based on market requirements & ongoing feedback from 7 pilot sites, the project will disseminate AbleGames to potential purchasers & users through various media & events, & validate/refine our Business Plan to deploy by domestic & institutional subscription market channels strategy. The first targeted segment is youths with CP, where the Partners have competitive advantage - based on success in that niche to address further remedial & learning gaming markets. Impact: within 5 years, 99k users, €42m accumulated income, 900% average ROI, reduce EU medical/social care costs by €150m/year & generate 60 direct & 300 indirect jobs.
Fields of science
- medical and health sciencesclinical medicinephysiotherapy
- social scienceseconomics and businessbusiness and managementcommercee-commerce
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencessoftwaresoftware applicationsvirtual reality
- medical and health sciencesbasic medicineneurology
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencemachine learning
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
IA - Innovation actionCoordinator
0255 Oslo
Norway
The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.