| Sumario: | Purpose Exercising and staying physically active are important factors that can contribute to healthy aging and reduce the chance of falling, a major problem for older people around the world. Exergames have already been introduced successfully to improve the appeal of exercise, but assessing fall risk is difficult and intensive to do on a regular base. This paper introduces a way to combine the physical exercises that are used in an exergame with an assessment for fall-risk. The 'Rehabilium tree blooming game' is an exergame that has been introduced successfully in rehabilitation and healthcare centers for older people in Japan. The 'Rehabilium' is a useful game that helps voluntary exercise of older people. The Rehabilium is developed by the Kyushu University (Fukuoka, Japan) and is built around the stand-up exercise called a squat with chair1. This movement is nearly identical to the movement used in the chair stand test2.The chair stand test is a valid and reliable test to evaluate lower extremity muscle strength, a critical factor in evaluating functional performance and fall risk3 of older people. In a 30 second trial, 'The 30-second chair stand test', the client will rise from a chair and then sit back again as many times as possible, with his or her hands on the opposite shoulder, crossed at the wrists. A below average score4 (Table 1), based on gender and age, indicates a higher risk for falls. The objective of this study is to determine if the 30-second chair stand test can be assessed automatically while playing a modified version of the Rehabilium, so assessing can be done remotely, on a more frequent base and is easier to do. Method The chair stand test was implemented in a Dutch translated version of the Rehabilium: the 'BIT-game'. In the BIT-game a database function was added, which can record data during play sessions. In a web-based dashboard, therapists can easily access and analyze the data (Figure 2). The application automatically compares the first thirty seconds of play, the first thirty seconds of rising from a chair, and when the participant sits down again, with the average scores of the 'The 30-second chair stand test'. For reliable results the instructions of the chair stand test should be followed carefully. Results & Discussion The chair stand test was implemented in a playable version of the BIT-game. In user tests the records of the first thirty seconds of play are comparable with scores for the chair stand test. In the user tests, the instructions where provided by an instructor. In the future these instructions should be implemented in the game, so the game is compatible for use at home. Future research with the target group is needed to study if the output of the game on the first 30 seconds of play is comparable with the results of 'The 30-Second chair stand test' on larger groups and if this output can be used as a predictor for fall risk.
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