Daria Tsoupikova received Session's Best Paper Award at IMCIC 2019

Daria Tsoupikova, an Associate Professor at the UIC School of Design received Session's Best Paper Award for her paper entitled Virtual Reality and Games Facilitating Successful Aging presented at the e-Health, Science and Information Technologies session at the 10th International Conference on Complexity, Informatics and Cybernetics (IMCIC 2019), held in Orlando, FL, March 11–15, 2019. The presentation addressed the existing need of study how the advanced technologies can help with the ongoing and upcoming concerns about aging population with and without disabilities. The manifold potential of VR technologies and serious games enables the growing branches of clinical research addressing the needs, sensorimotor and cognitive challenges of aging populations with and without disabilities.
 
The presentation described her work on the development of the VR environment for post-stroke hand rehabilitation in collaboration with Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (SRAL), that can be used independently at home for upper extremity therapy to reinvent engagement with health, social communication and well-being for stroke survivors. This VR research project is focused on improving hand/arm functions, remediating engagement and motivation with rehabilitation, addressing social isolation and providing technology to foster home-based therapies for individuals aging with disabilities.