A Movitok for elders is created

This three module system that generates percussion sounds with physical exercise was designed by three Industrial Design students of fourth semester in Palmira"s campus of Universidad Nacional to motivate elders from different geriatric centers to perform dynamic and entertaining physical activities.

The Movitok, as it is called by its designers, aims at recovering and maintaining the functional capacity of elders.

"It works the physical part of the upper and lower limbs. The Movitok also works the memory and the cognitive part, in special the psychosocial area of elders, since it integrates them through the modules," asserted Leidy Estefany Paz, a student of eighth semester of Industrial Design.

This new system counts on three exercise modules. Each of them has ten soft surfaces that illuminate in sequence as an instruction for elders to touch with their hands and feet, generating different percussion sounds.

"The sequence of physical exercise has to be performed by elders between 15 to 20 minutes per session (three per day), and when the time is over, the Movitok activates some music from the 60s for the users to rest and work on the cognitive area; this makes this system something much more interesting," said Diego Sarria, a student of eighth semester of Industrial Design.

The Movitok was tested in the Geriatric Center of Palmira with more than 20 elders that quickly learned to use it and expressed their satisfaction with the exercise.

"When we arrived to the center to test the system, all the elders started to use it without being asked to. They used it perfectly during more than 10 minutes without any difficulty in an entertaining way," mentioned Diego Mayor.

For the professor Eliana Castro, these projects have an important social impact that has to be supported by institutions working for the welfare of elders.

"This is an important piece of work in the social area in Palmira with vulnerable populations, on this case, elders. It would be interesting if the Major of Palmira and other institutions support the projects to improve the quality of life of this population," affirmed the professor.

If you are interested on this project, please call (2) 271 7000, ext. 35225, or send an e-mail to ecastros@palmira.unal.edu.co.