Persons post stroke were first familiarized with the four exercise conditions and then instrumented with a metabolic system and heart rate sensor. They played the games in two counter balanced blocks: repeated (standard of care and self-paced repeated custom) and random (Microsoft-Kinect game and game-paced random custom). Games were played for 8.5 minutes with ten minutes of rest in between so they could return to physiological baseline. During exercise they reported exertion and at the end of teach exercise trial they completed an enjoyment questionnaire. At the end of the first block, participants removed the metabolic system's mask and were assessed for motor recovery. Performances were video taped. At the end of data collection preferences for the activities were ranked and participants answered open ended questions. Data for neuromuscular and cardiovascular intensity, enjoyment and perceived effort were reduced and analyzed using a Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (RMANOVA) with the appropriate post-hoc corrections. Where possible clinically meaningful changes were calculated.
Persons post stroke executed stepping activities under four conditions: standard of care, interacting with: an off-the-shelf Microsoft-Kinect game, with a self-paced repeated custom video game and a game-paced random custom video game. Exercise intensity (neuromuscular and cardiovascular), enjoyment and perceived effort were measured during and after each condition.