Video game may boost physical activity in children with SMA
Study: "Tales from the Magic Keep' could be feasible home-based tool
The “Tales from the Magic Keep” exergame — a video game that uses body movements to promote physical activity — proved to be a feasible and engaging home-based tool for children and adolescents with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), according to a small Canadian study.
However, improving “gesture recognition is imperative for future game use to ensure participant engagement and reduce frustration,” researchers wrote.
The study, “Feasibility of a Home-Based Exergaming Intervention for Youth With Spinal Muscular Atrophy,” was published in the journal Muscle & Nerve. The study was co-funded by Roche.
Exergames shown to improve strength, mobility in children
Children and adolescents with SMA benefit from rehabilitation programs that support daily function and independence. One promising approach is home-based exergaming, in which children use body movements captured by sensors to play video games, fostering exercise.
Since these games can be played at home, they reduce the burden of travel for families. Most importantly, they have been shown to improve strength, coordination, and mobility in children with neuromuscular disorders.
Standard motor function tests in SMA are conducted in clinical settings, which means they may fail to fully reflect daily abilities or be sensitive to short-term changes. Using wearable devices and home-based exergames may more accurately reflect short-term changes in real-world settings.
The Syde wearable technology, cleared by the European Union regulator to measure gait speed in patients with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has been used successfully in studies of SMA and other rare diseases.
For this study, researchers assessed the adherence, acceptability, and usability of the” Tales from the Magic Keep” exergame, which instructs players to create potions of increasing difficulty. For this, they use specific motions with their arms, shoulders, head, and chest.
Participants played the exergame in sessions of at least 20 minutes, four times a week over four weeks. The team also evaluated how feasible it was to wear the Syde device.
6 of 8 participants reported difficulties with gesture recognition
In total, eight children — four with SMA (three with type 2 and one with type 3) and four controls — completed the study. The mean age was 9 to 16 years. Participants were recruited from the McGill University Health Centre in Montreal and the British Columbia Children’s Hospital in Vancouver.
Participants with SMA adhered well to the exergame, as indicated by a mean of 4.5 sessions per week, with session duration consistently exceeding 20 minutes. The longest mean playtime occurred during week three, with a mean of 36.5 minutes. The controls averaged 3.5 sessions per week, with session lengths also above 20 minutes except during the final week.
In terms of acceptability, when asked whether they had fun playing the game, half of the participants agreed, while the other half was neutral. The majority (75%) said they felt good about themselves after playing, and 88% reported a sense of accomplishment. However, six participants (75%) — three with SMA and three controls — reported difficulties with gesture recognition. Three participants with SMA and one control found the game tasks challenging.
”Tales from the Magic Keep,” once updated to improve gesture recognition, could be feasible for home-based exergaming intervention in select older children and youth with SMA who are interested in the video game concept and have moderate upper limb function allowing for gameplay engagement.
Regarding usability, three of the four SMA patients found the game difficult to set up, in contrast to all peer controls, who found it easy. The median score in the System Usability Scale (SUS) was 67.5 for the entire group, with no significant difference between the SMA group and the controls. SUS scores range from zero to 100, with higher scores indicating better usability. A score of 68 is the average found in the literature.
Regarding the use of Syde, reliable data were recorded for six participants, with more than 100 hours of data collected. All participants reported that the device was comfortable to wear and did not interfere with daily activities. One participant’s data was missing due to a defective sensor.
“‘Tales from the Magic Keep,’ once updated to improve gesture recognition, could be feasible for home-based exergaming intervention in select older children and youth with SMA who are interested in the video game concept and have moderate upper limb function allowing for gameplay engagement,” the scientists concluded. “Findings from this feasibility study will inform the protocol for a future randomized controlled trial.”
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