Goldsmiths student wins first prize for research on stroke rehabilitation at pre

A Masters student based in the Department of Psychology at Goldsmiths has won first prize for student research at the CHI2015 conference in South Korea, one of the world’s leading gatherings of experts in the field of Human Computer Interaction. Pedro Kirk received the award for research he conducted into the benefits of digital music interfaces for stroke rehabilitation.

Every year over 150,000 people suffer from strokes in the UK and it is a leading cause of adult disability disproportionally affecting people from poorer backgrounds. Rehabilitation is key to patients’ recovery, yet stroke survivors typically receive only limited care after leaving hospital. Previous research suggested significant benefits associated with music therapy and this project aimed to establish whether patients would be motivated to perform the repetitive arm exercises needed to improve motor skills by playing with digital musical instruments.

Pedro is a Masters student on the unique MSc Music Mind and Brain, an interdisciplinary programme that combines music psychology with neuroscience. Having studied computing at undergraduate level been a keen musician for many years, Pedro was able to bring his diverse background to bear on his research into stroke rehabilitation. The project involved over 40 patients in long-term stroke recovery who participated in five workshops where they were encouraged to play music using custom made prototype instruments. All the prototypes used specially calibrated pressure sensitive fabric allowing music to be played using different degrees of pressure.

The participants overwhelmingly found the workshops engaging and felt that playing digital musical instruments could be beneficial for physical rehabilitation. This suggests that more research into stroke rehabilitation with computer-based aids could have a significant impact on the number of rehabilitation options available to stroke survivors, helping them to spend more time on the physical exercises essential for improving quality of life following a stroke.

Next, Pedro plans to take wireless digital musical instruments synced to iPads into stroke survivor’s homes to see whether they can be encouraged to self-manage their rehabilitation by playing their favourite songs on digital musical instruments. This collaboration between the Departments of Computing and Psychology is set to continue for a number of years to help develop techniques for children and adults with hemiplegia by working alongside Breathe Arts Health Research, a social enterprise dedicated to designing creative approaches to healthcare that improve health outcomes for patients, staff and communities.

Image credit: COEX Convention & Exhibition Center by Anthony Hevron under CC BY-NC 2.0