Mixed Reality as High Assistive Technological Impact on the Quality of Life in the Elderly Population

Since in the decade 2021-2030 an increase in the elderly population has already been predicted, the introduction of new assistive technologies specifically designed for elderly people living alone or in nursing home is essential to preserve or improve their QoL. The proposed MR application is an example of motor and coordination exercise for the upper limbs. MR technology with the methodology presented has demonstrated to enable specific exercises, tailored to the user and his or her needs. In fact, rehabilitative, physiotherapeutic or muscular exercises can be carried out, asking the user to perform the same activities and movements executed in a traditional context, but with the possibility of having instant feedback and saving data to evaluate improvements over time. Furthermore, such framework is adaptable to the different people's impairments: for example, the hologram size and distance can meet the elderly people with sight loss's needing by being set in user-specific way. Consequently, hand-eye co-ordination exercises can be performed, improving the perception of the eye in correctly detecting the position of the hologram in space and the co-ordination of the hand in reaching exactly to the hologram to interact with it. Knowing that rehabilitation is based on the repetition of an action, this type of system allows these actions to be performed in a more playful, but not unrestrained, context.