Title: MusicCamera -- A Camera-based Music Making Tool for Physical Rehabilitation

Date:  December 8, 2005

Authors: Mikhail Gorman, Margrit Betke, Elliot Saltzman, and Amir Lahav

Abstract: 

The therapeutic effects of playing music are being recognized
increasingly in the field of rehabilitation medicine.  People with
physical disabilities, however, often do not have the motor dexterity
needed to play an instrument.  We developed a camera-based
human-computer interface called ``MusicCamera'' to provide such people
with a means to make music by performing therapeutic exercises.
MusicCamera uses computer vision techniques to convert the movements
of a patient's body part, for example, a finger, hand, or foot, into
musical and visual feedback using the open software platform EyesWeb.
It can be adjusted to a patient's particular therapeutic needs and
provides quantitative tools for monitoring the recovery process and
assessing therapeutic outcomes.  We tested the potential of
MusicCamera as a rehabilitation tool with six subjects who responded
to or created music in various movement exercises.  In these
proof-of-concept experiments, MusicCamera has performed reliably and
shown its promise as a therapeutic device.