Gamifying Attention Assessment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), a common neurodevelopmental disorder in children, is marked by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, impacting daily life. Traditional ADHD diagnostics are lengthy and resource-heavy. Using computer games for ADHD diagnosis and therapy represents a major advancement in mental health and neuroscience. This study aims to develop a video game, named Attention Robots, to facilitate an enhanced computer-aided system for ADHD diagnosis. The game is designed to assess attention levels in subjects. Attention Robots is a serious game designed to assess attention in individuals with ADHD. Participants play by identifying robots by posture, with the system recording hits, commissions, and omissions to assess attention focus and control. In addition, several biometric data is recorded from the subject. Attention Robots' effectiveness was compared with the D2 Test of Attention, showing its validity as an attention assessment tool through response time, error rate, and attention consistency metrics. Attention Robots marks a significant step in ADHD assessment through gaming, showing how interactive platforms can enhance diagnosis and therapy. The game currently focuses on measuring attention, but anticipated future updates include biometric monitoring to improve attention evaluation accuracy, potentially advancing ADHD management and treatment.

Note:

Funding Information: This work has been co-funded by the BALLADEER (PROMETEO /2021/088) project, a Big Data analytical platform for the diagnosis and treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) featuring extended reality, funded by the Conselleria de Innovación, Universidades, Ciencia y Sociedad Digital (Generalitat Valenciana), Grant RED2022-134656-T funded by MCIN/AEI/ 10.13039/501100011033 and Program for the Promotion of R+D+I (UAIND20-03B) by Vicerrectorado de Investigación y Transferencia de Conocimiento (Universidad de Alicante), and by the AETHER-UA project (PID2020-112540RB-C43), a smart data holistic approach for context-aware data analytics: smarter machine learning for business modelling and analytics, funded by Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.

Conflict of Interests: The authors (Ana Lavalle, Miguel A. Teruel, Javier Sanchis, Nicolás Ruiz-Robledillo, Borja Costa-López, Juan Trujillo) declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Ethical Approval: Approved by the Ethical Committee from the University of Alicante with reference number UA-2023-05-17_1. In addition, signed parental permission was always gathered.

Keywords: Computer game, Attention Robots, ADHD, Experiment, Psychology