Automated image analysis in visuo-motor testing for the specification of an integrated evaluative and therapy support tool for rehabilitation

The rehabilitation process can include both diagnostic and therapy-directed elements and both are important in addressing the problems of visuo-motor dysfunction, since in such cases it is important both to provide an objective, reliable, and efficient evaluation of the clinical condition of a patient and, whenever possible, to use the information thereby obtained to specify, refine, or optimize an appropriate program of rehabilitation therapy. The authors seek to develop an approach to the analysis of individual behavioral patterns relating to motor-perceptual functioning which is of relevance in both these areas. Specifically, the techniques discussed will provide an integrated framework within which the evaluation of visuo-motor functioning can be closely coupled to the provision of appropriate therapy programs for patients suffering or at risk from such forms of impairment. Practical case studies are reported to demonstrate the range of data acquisition and analysis procedures inherent in the approach, and the implications for the development of an integrated support tool for rehabilitation applications are explored in detail