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Estate News

eHealth – Crossing the (mid)line

BY DR REOLYN HEYMANN OF THE uNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBuRG

he COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the many aspect of treatment. The game is developed in such a
divisions we have in our society. One of these way that it ensures that the child physically crosses the
Tdivisions is the digital divide, where certain parts midline when playing the game.
of society with access to fast, reliable internet could The game has a back-end system that saves all
transition easily to living and working online. Another the events in the game in an online database. The
divide is the access to quality and efficient health care. occupational therapists can thus access the data
Proper internet access can help to bridge the divide in remotely, view graphs for a specific child and make
our health care system by making use of eHealth, which specific changes to the variables of the game to address Dr Reolyn Heymann
is defined as the use of information and communication the individual needs of each child. Cost was a primary
technology in health services. Medical professionals consideration in the design of the input device, which
will be able to assist people in remote areas via the can be manufactured for less than R300. A child in
internet or telephone, if they have access to reliable and a remote location can thus play the game, and an
affordable telecommunication services. occupational therapist can monitor the progress of
As mentioned in the article from last month, serious the child remotely. This system has been analysed
games can be used to transform eLearning. Serious and evaluated by occupational therapists and they
games can also be used in eHealth applications. concluded that it will indeed help in treating bilateral
Jonathan Jacobs, Japie Greeff and myself developed integration (midline crossing) problems remotely.
a serious game with an external input device to assist Another eHealth solution, developed by Shiksha Japie Greeff
occupational therapists in diagnosing and treating Dehda, Japie Greeff and myself, focuses on serious
bilateral integration problems. games to aid in anxiety management. An interactive
Some children have problems crossing the midline, a stress ball was developed as a first prototype. A person
serious problem that can lead to difficulties with reading will play the specific game by squishing the stress ball,
and writing. Crossing the midline infers that a body which contains pressure sensors. The ball communicates
part, for example a hand or foot, can spontaneously via Bluetooth with the computer game. The game is
move over to the opposite side of the body to perform unique in the sense that it starts at the most difficult
an action. To clarify, a child who has difficulty crossing level and then gets easier as you progress through
the midline can physically perform actions that cross the game, making the player calmer and simulating a Jonathan Jacobs
the centre of the body, however they do not intuitively feeling of gaining control.
cross the midline when challenged with a task. This Currently, we are busy designing a cellphone cover
is a problem that is difficult to diagnose and requires with pressure sensors in the cover. A person can thus
treatment by an occupational therapist. However, play the game on their cellphone by squeezing their
occupational therapy services are not always available cellphone cover.
in remote parts of our country and the cost of regular eHealth is an area that is utilised globally, especially
sessions is a barrier for getting treatment. To solve this in places like Europe due to their aging population.
problem, we developed an external input device that We have unique problems in South Africa and it is thus
the child uses to play the game. The game consists of up to us to design and develop solutions that fit our
different levels and each level addresses a different conditions and cross our divisions. Shiksha Dehda

Dr Reolyn Heymann (D. Eng. Electrical and Electronic Engineering)
Director: Centre for Collaborative Digital Networks, University of Johannesburg

10 • Issue 9 2020 • The Villager