Sailing as Stroke Rehabilitation Strategy

Abstract

Stroke (brain attack), is a serious global public health problem and the main cause of many forms of disability. The majority of stroke survivors are mostly left with motor (muscle movement or mobility) impairments. Although remarkable developments have been made in drug treatment, post-stroke care continues to rely on rehabilitation interventions mostly. On the other hand, the presence of post-stroke depression has been associated with decreases in functional recovery, social activity and cognition. Therefore, this project aims to improve the quality of people’s lives after a stroke by introducing sailing as outdoor mobility rehabilitation. It is intended to increase the patients’ motivation and engagement in the rehabilitation process by a more enjoyable and relaxing intervention than the existing ones especially for long term periods. The project, based on a haptic system installed on the deck of NYTEC 28 sailing boat, aim to monitoring rehab process development in post-stroke during normal sailing activity.

Keywords: Product Design, Stroke Rehabilitation, Physical Computing, Sailing, User Engagement

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe100726