Real and Virtual Tasks in Older Adults
Condition: Aged
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      Objective: Evaluate whether a task practiced in virtual environment could provide better
      performance than the same task in real environment and if performing a task in virtual
      environment could enable transfer to the same task in real environment and vice versa.
      Method: the investigators evaluated 65 older adults of both genders, aged 60-82 years. The
      investigators applied a timing coincident task to measure the perceptual-motor ability to
      perform a motor response. The participants were divided into two groups: a) started in a real
      interface and b) started in a virtual interface.
    

Detailed description: 
      Sixty-five older adults of both sexes (12 males and 53 females) aged 60-82 years (definition
      used by World Health Organization) were included for participation in the study. Other
      inclusion criteria included healthy cognitive and motor conditions to understand and perform
      the required activity, which consisted of scoring more than 24 points on a Mini Mental State
      Examination administered before testing.

      Material and apparatus

      The investigators applied the timing coincident task to measure the perceptual-motor ability
      to perform a motor response in sync with the arrival of an external object at a certain
      point. This instrument has been widely investigated, especially in the motor learning area.
      To evaluate the motor learning of the participants using a timing coincident task, two
      distinct interfaces were applied as follows:

        1. Real environment interface (RI): Bassin Anticipation Timer Model 35580 (Lafayette
           Instrument, Indiana, USA) was used to represent the real environment. This equipment was
           developed to test the area of visual acuity related to eye-hand coordination and
           anticipation. The participant was instructed to watch a light as it travels down the
           runway with 32 LEDs (two runways with 16 red LEDs on each). A cue yellow LED was lit for
           0.5 seconds after initiating a test and before the lights run down the runway. The
           participant must anticipate the light reaching the target (last LED) and press a button
           to coincide with the arrival of the light at the target. The LCD readout displays the
           time difference between the response and the arrival of the light at the target and
           indicate if the response was early or late.

        2. Virtual environment interface (VI): The investigators used a virtual coincidence timing
           task based on the Bassin Anticipation Timer developed by the Department of Electronic
           Engineering Polytechnic School of the University of São Paulo , and updated by the
           Information Systems Laboratory of the University of São Paulo. In VI, 10 bubbles
           represented by 3D design on the computer are displayed simultaneously in a vertical
           column. The bubble lights change from gray to red sequentially (i.e. from the top to the
           bottom) until the target and last bubble (the tenth bubble). The task consists of a
           movement of the hand in a virtual environment produced by the Microsoft Kinect® sensor
           at the moment the light reaches the target bubble, as proposed in RI task.

      Procedure and design The participants were divided into two groups: one group started in RI
      (RI-group), and the other started in VI (VI-group). Each participant used the dominant hand
      to perform the tasks (all right-handed). The task was performed in 20 trials for acquisition,
      5 trials for retention and 5 trials for transfer. Acquisition and retention were performed at
      the same velocity, and transfer with an increase of velocity. Both groups performed the tasks
      in the two interfaces.

      The researches provided verbal explanation about the use of instruments before the
      participants started the tasks. The tasks according to the interfaces are described below.

      Virtual interface: Participants were seated on a chair in front of a computer (MS Windows
      64bits, Intel® Core™ i7-4810MQ CPU @ 2.80GHz) and Kinect sensor V1.0 to facilitate and enable
      the task. The image of participant was shown at the top righ of the monitor, and their hand
      movement in the main screen. The movement to reach the bubble was obtained by Kinect sensor.
      The participant had to move his/her hand to pass over the target bubble. During acquisition
      and retention trials, the bubbles simulated a dropped light movement with the turning on and
      off of the lights in an interval of 500ms (level 4) between position changes, while during
      transfer light movement was increased with 250ms (level 5) between positions.

      Real interface: Participants were standing in front of the Bassin Anticipatory Timer
      positioned vertically on a table. The standing position was used in the real task to
      facilitate the participant to be able to see the task with comfort. Participant was
      orientated that they should press the button when the target light was turned on
      (synchronously with the target light). The dropped light movement, with the turning on and
      off of the LEDs occurred at an interval of 100ms (l MPH) between position changes to
      acquisition and retention phases, and at an interval of 9ms (11MPH) to transfer.

      Due to the difference in number of LEDs (RI) and bubbles (VI) between the tasks, to equalize
      the protocol, the time between the start and end of the task was the same for all phases of
      the study, i.e., 5 seconds for acquisition and retention and 2.5 seconds for transfer.
    

Intervention name(s): Virtual interface group; Real interface group
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): First practice on virtual interface in order to evaluate the improvement and its influence on real interface performance (second practice).; First practice on real interface in order to evaluate the improvement and its influence on virtual interface performance (second practice).
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Crossover Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment