TY - GEN
T1 - Evaluation of Touch Technology for the Aging Population
AU - Gabyzon, Michal Elboim
AU - Chiari, Lorenzo
AU - Laufer, Shlomi
AU - Corzani, Mattia
AU - Danial-Saad, Alexandra
N1 - Funding Information: This study was supported by a research grant from the Center for Research and Study of Aging at the University of Haifa Publisher Copyright: © 2019 IEEE.
PY - 2019/7
Y1 - 2019/7
N2 - Optimal and effective hand function is essential for performing activities of daily living e.g., eating and dressing. Multiple advances in technology typical of our modern era overwhelmingly affect today's environment. Operating these technologies, which are necessary for performing a wide variety of basic and instrumental activities of daily living, often require perfecting new manual skills. A touchscreen is an excellent example of a modern technological application which has become prevalent in all aspects of modern life and its use requires fine motor skills to perform a range of activities such as tapping, swiping, and virtual pinching. However, traditional hand assessment tools are not able to capture the skills necessary to operate a touchscreen. The ability to assess these skills is essential for the development of appropriate treatment protocols as well as for determining technological adaptations necessary for making touchscreens accessible to all.The Touchscreen Assessment Tool (TATOO) is a software application developed to comprehensively and objectively assess the hand performance abilities necessary for operating a touchscreen. The current pilot study examined the usability of the TATOO application by individuals in two age groups: elderly individuals (over 75 years) and middle-aged adults (over 45 years). The validity of the TATOO was examined by comparing the performance of the two age groups. Additionally, the correlations between the results of the TATOO and with traditional hand assessment tools (e.g., prehension strength and dexterity) were determined for the elderly group.Usability as assessed with the System Usability Scale was very good in both age groups. Discriminative validity was demonstrated with elderly individuals demonstrating less accurate and significantly longer performance time. No correlation was found between the TATOO variables and prehension strength (grip and pinch strength) or dexterity skills.The TATOO has the potential to become an important novel supplement to the toolbox available to clinical professionals treating the elderly in the modern world. Future studies with larger samples of elderly individuals are warranted in order to establish a normative data base.
AB - Optimal and effective hand function is essential for performing activities of daily living e.g., eating and dressing. Multiple advances in technology typical of our modern era overwhelmingly affect today's environment. Operating these technologies, which are necessary for performing a wide variety of basic and instrumental activities of daily living, often require perfecting new manual skills. A touchscreen is an excellent example of a modern technological application which has become prevalent in all aspects of modern life and its use requires fine motor skills to perform a range of activities such as tapping, swiping, and virtual pinching. However, traditional hand assessment tools are not able to capture the skills necessary to operate a touchscreen. The ability to assess these skills is essential for the development of appropriate treatment protocols as well as for determining technological adaptations necessary for making touchscreens accessible to all.The Touchscreen Assessment Tool (TATOO) is a software application developed to comprehensively and objectively assess the hand performance abilities necessary for operating a touchscreen. The current pilot study examined the usability of the TATOO application by individuals in two age groups: elderly individuals (over 75 years) and middle-aged adults (over 45 years). The validity of the TATOO was examined by comparing the performance of the two age groups. Additionally, the correlations between the results of the TATOO and with traditional hand assessment tools (e.g., prehension strength and dexterity) were determined for the elderly group.Usability as assessed with the System Usability Scale was very good in both age groups. Discriminative validity was demonstrated with elderly individuals demonstrating less accurate and significantly longer performance time. No correlation was found between the TATOO variables and prehension strength (grip and pinch strength) or dexterity skills.The TATOO has the potential to become an important novel supplement to the toolbox available to clinical professionals treating the elderly in the modern world. Future studies with larger samples of elderly individuals are warranted in order to establish a normative data base.
KW - Touchscreen Assessment Tool (TATOO)
KW - aging
KW - elderly individuals
KW - hand assessment
KW - usability
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85080114336&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1109/ICVR46560.2019.8994539
DO - https://doi.org/10.1109/ICVR46560.2019.8994539
M3 - Conference contribution
T3 - International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation, ICVR
SP - 1
EP - 6
BT - ICVR 2019 - International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 2019 International Conference on Virtual Rehabilitation, ICVR 2019
Y2 - 21 July 2019 through 24 July 2019
ER -