Examining the feasibility of a Microsoft Kinect ™ based game intervention for individuals with anterior cruciate ligament injury risk

We describe a feasibility study in which the Microsoft Kinect is used for a game-based exercise to strengthen posterior chain muscles which are often weak in those at high risk of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. In the game, subjects perform a single posterior chain strengthening exercise. The game uses a side-scrolling video display driven by a hip abduction exercise while a player lies down on the floor. Leg lifts beyond a predetermined angle trigger the jumping action of an animated tiger. We describe the scene and game control, which uses depth images from the Kinect. Although Kinect-based skeletal data are used for many games, the skeletal model does not yield good estimates for positions on the floor. Our proposed system uses multiple leg angle estimators for different angle regions to recognize the player lying down and capture the angle between two legs. We conducted an experiment that validates our system with marker-based Vicon ground truth data. We also present results of an end-to-end test using the game, showing feasibility.