Individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI) are at increased risk for cardiopulmonary and
cardiovascular disease. The GameCycleTM exercise system integrates arm-ergometry and video
gaming with the goal of providing a fun and motivational exercise platform. For this thesis
research, two studies were conducted to evaluate the design of the GameCycleTM and its efficacy
as an exercise platform.
The objective of the first study was to teach subjects how to safely and effectively use
the GameCycleTM, to determine if subjects are able to learn how to operate the GameCycleTM in
an acceptable time period, to learn whether they are able to reach their target heart rate zone
using the GameCycleTM, and to obtain feedback from new users regarding features of the new
system. Participants included 14 subjects with SCI (11 men and 3 women, 37.5 +/- 6.5 years).
Subjects were trained to use the GameCycleTM and were required to complete a timed
demonstration. Metabolic data were collected over a 14 minute exercise bout while playing the
GameCycleTM. All subjects were able to complete training successfully and 12 (86%) of the
subjects were able to reach their target heart rate zones. All of the participants conveyed that the GameCycleTM was easy to learn, operate, and has easily adjustable settings to suit their needs. 86% of participants found the GameCycleTM to be enjoyable and that it was likely motivate
manual wheelchair users to exercise regularly. This study indicates that the GameCycleTM is
easy to use and confirms previous findings that aerobic training zones can be reached.
The goal of the In-home Phase was to evaluate the effectiveness of the GameCycleTM as
compared to standard ergometry. Nine persons with SCI (1 woman, 8 men, 36.2 +/- 5.5 years)
completed a four-month in-home trial in which they were asked to exercise with the
GameCycleTM for two months and a standard arm-ergometer for two months. Results indicate
that subjects exercised for significantly longer durations (p=0.035) with the GameCycleTM. This
suggests that the GameCycleTM is more enjoyable and will increase exercise dosage for longterm
exercise compares to standard arm-ergometry.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:PITT/oai:PITTETD:etd-12022008-101144 |
| Date | 28 January 2009 |
| Creators | Authier, Erica Lynn |
| Contributors | Dr Shirley Fitzgerald, Dr Rory Cooper, Dr Rakie Cham |
| Publisher | University of Pittsburgh |
| Source Sets | University of Pittsburgh |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-12022008-101144/ |
| Rights | restricted, I hereby certify that, if appropriate, I have obtained and attached hereto a written permission statement from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis, dissertation, or project report, allowing distribution as specified below. I certify that the version I submitted is the same as that approved by my advisory committee. I hereby grant to University of Pittsburgh or its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible, under the conditions specified below, my thesis, dissertation, or project report in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis, dissertation or project report. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis, dissertation, or project report. |
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