G-LLE System Design: Gamified Rehabilitation for Children’s Lower Limb Therapy Based on Natural Mapping

Abstract: It is widely recognized that gamification can potentially improve users' performance in rehabilitation tasks. However, limited research has addressed mitigating additional cognitive load from gamification in pediatric rehabilitation. This study examined a natural mapping-based gamified rehabilitation system to improve children's rehabilitation performance and minimize cognitive load from a user-centered perspective. Eighteen participants were enrolled in a controlled trial, providing questionnaire feedback and interviews after each situation. The results showed that G-LLE improved children's rehabilitation performance and maintained a low cognitive load. On the other hand, it revealed the importance of personalised game elements and immersive interactions in enhancing the rehabilitation experience. This study demonstrates the potential of a user-centered design approach to innovating pediatric rehabilitation, offering valuable insights for developing scalable and personalised gamified rehabilitation systems.

Keywords: gamification, system design, lower-limb rehabilitation, natural mapping, human-computer interaction, user-centered design

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006352

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