Ms. Arias-Velasquez is the Executive Director of the company "CENTRO MEDICO AFICENTER SAS,” as its founder and sole owner. She has been responsible for leading the planning and execution of the company's objectives. The company "CENTRO MEDICO AFICENTER SAS", registered in Cali (Colombia), is a stable and solid company with extensive experience and recognition in the southwest region of the country that provides physical rehabilitation services in the health plans for care of car accidents SOAT, mandatory care plans "EPS" in charge of the Colombian state, in the ARL (Work Accidents / Occupational Disease) care plans, or care plans for SPORTS INJURIES in elite athletes, amateur or recreational.
A physiotherapist graduated from the Universidad del Valle, with a Master's Degree in Occupational Health from the Universidad Libre, she has defined the
clinical rehabilitation protocols and care model for her company. He defined KPIs or key performance indicators for his clients (insurance companies) to
objectively measure physical rehabilitation, the definition of cases based on medical discharge and the maximum medical improvement achieved with the
patient in his physiological structure at the time of the intervention. The above, directing the group of doctors Specialists in Orthopedics, Physiatry, Occupational
Medicine, Neurology, Psychology and its entire therapeutic support group in Physiotherapy, Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy.
Endeavor-Specific Experience
As an adjunct to the clinic work, Ms. Arias-Velasquez created a program specifically intended to provide physical therapy to children that did not have the ability to pay for those services. Many of the children she encountered were overweight or obese, which led her to view physical therapy in a new light. She realized that she could help people who are obese to be more physically active and fit by teaching them to exercise in pain free and fun ways. The right approach would help burn calories, get rid of fat, preserve muscle tissue, and protect joints.
She knew that motivation to use such a program was critical, so she began to
experiment with video games—something many children liked to do. What she
found, however, was that many of the children could not afford the gaming
hardware required to play the games. At that point, she began researching other
options.
Research indicated that artificial intelligence could be used to create a new type
of game—an exergame (video game) that required the active participation of the
user.
While exergames already existed, those that used AI to replace the need for remotes or controllers were still in the research phase. It was not too long however, before an open source software, Unity, provided the framework for creating such games. Ms. Arias-Velasquez then saw an opportunity to introduce them in the United States, where childhood obesity was rampant.
Ms. Arias Velasquez is modeling this platform on a program that she created and administered in her clinic in Colombia.
The program involved age-appropriate active video games played with a controller. They were used as physical therapy aides for children who had suffered sports injuries and obese children. There were two issues that she wanted to address when the program was replicated in the United States. If the games were used for multiple players, interaction was assured. But, if the games were for single players, interaction was difficult. She decided that there would be better outcomes if the single player could effectively interact with the game on the screen. After some intensive research, she learned that there was an emerging field that created active video games without controllers or consoles. The technology uses advanced full-body motion tracking powered by AI, combined with gamification and augmented reality. The camera records the user’s movements and powers the game in real time. This would be a breakthrough for helping children that had no one else with whom to play the games.
This This enables an engaging and interactive gaming platform designed to promote physical activity while providing an enjoyable gaming experience. Bynincorporating advanced fullbody motion tracking powered by AI, combined with gamification and augmented reality (AR), the games put players inside the game wherever the players are, and uses players’ natural body movement as the game controller.
Ms. Arias- Velasquez intends to offer a wide variety of motion-based games, including different game play, style and depth, that satisfies players of any age and level of activity, or with different purposes. Her target market in the United States is obese and overweight children who have no motivation to be more active; and may even have medically-diagnosed conditions that require them to lose weight.