Project

Hyperscore in the Hospital

Groups

Hyperscore in the Hospital was an opportunity to use the Hyperscore composition system with a wide array of patients from the Tewksbury State Hospital. The patients exhibited diseases such as schizophrenia, cerebral palsy, bipolar disorder, spina bifida, and various dementias. Through the use of Hyperscore, the researchers addressed major treatment goal areas for a number of patients. On the mental health unit, staff reported that patients were exhibiting a marked decrease in self-damaging behaviors, while maintaining attention to a task, communicating sentiments of self-worth, and exhibiting developments in social behavior. On the physical health unit, patients displayed fine-motor control over the interface, where for several patients, there was little prior evidence to indicate that such physical potential existed. These measures, and many more, promise a wealth of benefits to be achieved in the domain of music and health-care services. In the future we hope to design interfaces that are specifically tailored to investigate the exciting field of music, mind and health.