Workshop 1: Use of psychophysiological measures in virtual rehabilitation

Assessment of virtual rehabilitation designs is typically guided by human-computer interaction methods such as usability. Although interaction and usability are important evaluative metrics, these measures may not provide enough information as to the efficacy of the rehabilitation component of these scenarios. Of importance are the individual differences that may affect outcome measures for single applications and the transition to comprehensive virtual rehabilitation programs. One aim of this workshop is to support the premise that physiological measures provide a means to assess individual differences in information processing and affective responding that may impact the success of the rehabilitation protocol. We will provide background information on the state-of-the-art in portable psychophysical and neurosensing devices such as EEG and fNIR, review their associated measures, discuss issues with regard to integrating sensors into virtual rehabilitation applications using a mixed reality based example, and provide examples of their use for cognitive rehabilitation and post traumatic stress syndrome. Psychophysiological measures covered in this workshop will include both central and peripheral nervous system measures such as EEG and fNIR, as well as electrodermal responses and heart rate variability, respectively. Upon completion of this workshop, participants will better understand the pros and the cons of introducing such measures into the design cycle of their rehabilitation protocols. More importantly, the participant will be more informed as to how to apply these measures to their own work.