Background: Recently, there has been an emphasis on the use of interventions with biofeedback information for the maintenance or correction of posture. Objects: This study assessed the change of trunk posture and trunk muscle activation when people exhibiting postural kyphosis performed visual display terminal work with or without a contact feedback device (CFD). Methods: Eighteen right-handed individuals were recruited. Thoracic angle and right thoracic erector spinae (TES) muscle amplitude were analyzed. There were two sessions in these experiments. The control session involved 16 minutes of typing without a CFD, and the CFD session involved 16 minutes of typing with a CFD. The visual analog scale score was analyzed with a paired t-test, and the kinematic and electromyography data were analyzed through two-way repeated analysis of variance. Results: The paired t-tests revealed that subjects had significantly less pain after the CFD sessions than after the control sessions (p<.05). Significant main effects by session and by time were observed in the thoracic kyphosis angle (p<.05). There was a significant session×time interaction for TES amplitude (p<.05), along with significant main effects by session and by time (p<.05). Conclusion: The CFD caused people with postural kyphosis to straighten and to activate their TES continuously, even though they were habituated to bend their bodies forward. Therefore, the CFD was a beneficial treatment tool

게임 시장이 커짐에 따라 게이머의 계층도 점점 넓은 지는 현실에서 게임 개발의 확장은 매우 중요한 요소이다. 이러한 환경에서 기능성 게임 개발은 매우 시급한 문제이며 부가적으로 게임의 부정적 요인을 해소할 수 있는 방안이기도 하다. 이러한 목적의 일환으로 주의력 향상을 위한 진동 센서를 이용한 기능성 게임을 개발 하고자 하였다. 이를 위해 주의력 저하를 측정 할 수 있는 생체 반응 측정 시스템, 진동 센서를 이용할 수 있는 진동 시스템, 주의력을 감시하고 향상 시킬 수 있는 게임 시스템을 개발하였다. 주의력 저하는 게이머의 작업수행에 있어서 작업 오류와 작업 효율을 저하 시키는 중요한 요인이 되고 있다. 이를 향상 시킨다면 게이머 작업 생산성에 큰 영향을 미쳐 국가의 사회적, 경제적, 문화적 유익을 초래 할 수 있음이 확인되고 있다. 주의력 향상을 위한 촉각 피드백 장치와 감시 장치는 게이머의 작업 수행의 핵심적 문제 해결 열쇠를 제공하며 게임 콘텐츠 개발에 중요한 인터페이스 요소이다.

Physical therapists have been using biofeedback training to induce improvements in various circumstances. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of visual and tactile feedback using electrical stimulation on quadriceps strength. Nineteen women without known impairment of the neuromusculoskeletal system volunteered for this study. Subjects were randomly allocated into three groups: visual feedback, tactile feedback, and control group. The torque of isometric knee extension force was measured. Subjects were asked to exert the maximal isometric contraction force of quadriceps over a 30 second period. The resting period of 10 minutes was given after the maximal isometric contraction to avoid the muscle fatigue. In between groups comparison, significant differences of the peak torque and the torque area were found on the performance of the maximal isometric contraction of quadriceps (p<.05). The values peak of torque and torque area were significantly higher during visual feedback than tactile feedback. The results of this study suggest that visual feedback is more powerful than tactile feedback (p<.01).