Dr Jaime Garcia is a Software Engineer in Columbia who is interested in promoting the use of interactive video games (StepKinnection) to reduce the risk of falling in the elderly community.
Jaime Garcia
![Photo of Jaime Garcia](/sites/default/files/styles/wysiwyg_large_x1/public/jaime-garcia.jpg?itok=Lto9VRdw)
Primarily his current research is based on his UTS PhD project which he completed in 2015, where he explored the use of an interactive game technology to improve the physical and mental health of the aged cohort.
“With age, the human body undergoes a series of changes that can lead to a decline in mental and physical health. The decline in motor functions increases the risk of developing health problems such as postural instability, balance disorders or simply having a fall. Falling is the main cause of disability and fatality among the elderly.”
“My research project aimed to solve this problem through the use of interactive game technology.”
The game, Garcia says, “was aimed at reducing the risk of falling by training several physical and cognitive functions associated with falling.”
“We saw the potential of using video games to keep seniors active whilst having some fun simultaneously reduced their risk of falling.”
Since Garcia’s UTS graduation, he has been working with the StepKinnection project, as a consultant for BMR Corporate Solutions and has recently joined Neuroscience Research Australia developing and maintaining custom video games and mobile apps for the Falls Balance Injury Research Centre.
It was Garcia’s meeting with his two supervisors in 2010 that influenced his decision to undertake a PhD at UTS.
Seeing these inspirational supervisors, running amazing projects and making the lab such a nurturing environment made me choose UTS for my doctoral studies.
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