UpGrove: A Gamified App for Upper-Limb Self-Assessment

About The Entry

Millions of people worldwide live with upper-limb impairments caused by neurological conditions such as stroke and multiple sclerosis (MS). Although rehabilitation is a long and gradual process that often unfolds at home, functional assessments remain largely confined to occasional clinic visits, leaving clinicians without visibility into patients’ daily recovery and patients uncertain about their long-term progress. Over time, recovery can feel invisible and demotivating.

UpGrove bridges this gap by transforming clinically validated upper-limb assessments into orchard-themed interactive games powered by smartphone-based motion capture. Through intuitive tasks inspired by natural farming metaphors—such as harvesting crops, picking fruit, and watering plants—patients perform essential upper-limb movements while the system automatically captures, analyzes, and visualizes their performance. Patients and their caregivers receive immediate visual feedback, progress summaries, and personalized insights, enabling them to clearly see their self-recovery progress over time and stay motivated.

Beyond functional measurement, UpGrove also integrates reflective self-reporting, allowing patients to log daily experiences, emotions, and perceived difficulty. Therefore, the system builds a more holistic understanding of recovery. Longitudinal progress reports can be securely shared with clinicians, enabling remote monitoring and more informed, data-driven rehabilitation planning.

UpGrove further supports personalized recovery through adaptive goal-setting, task scheduling, and a farm-themed reward system. As patients complete tasks, their virtual orchard flourishes, reinforcing emotional engagement, motivation, and long-term adherence.

In short, UpGrove reframes long-term upper-limb rehabilitation from a burdensome clinical routine into an empowering, meaningful journey of growth—helping patients regain confidence, agency, and hope, while giving clinicians unprecedented visibility into everyday recovery.

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