Pooya Soltani

• PhD
• Senior Lecturer at University of Manchester

Aims: The rating of perceived exertion (RPE) provides correlations with physiological measurements of exercise intensity, including metabolic equivalent (MET), oxygen consumption (V˙O2), and heart rate (HR), in real (RS) and virtual (VS) sessions. To use RPE in patients with pathology, we aimed to examine the concurrent validity of RPE in type-1 di...

To benefit from virtual reality (VR) as a complementary tool for training, coaches must determine the proper tools and variables for tracking sports performance. We explored the basketball shooting at several scales (basket-ball, ball-player, and player systems) by monitoring success-rate, and ball and body kinematics. We measured how these scales...

We studied how usability and playability of sport exergames affect future intentions of participation in physical activity or actual sport. We employed questionnaires to measure participants’ enjoyment, usability, game-experience, and future intentions of physical activity and real sport. We compared the outcomes based on players’ gender, previous...

Augmented reality (AR) provides additional information to the reality of sportpeople, and might offer supplementary advantages compared to other technologies. The goals of this study were to characterize and understand the benefits of AR in sports education and training. We reviewed Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SportDiscus databases, and dis...

This study compared the movement patterns of forty-six college students, playing bouts of swimming exergame, while categorized based on their playing performance, gender, and prior experience of real swimming and exergames. Swimming events were divided into normal (controlled by visual feedback) and fast (no feedback) phases and upper limb kinemati...

Objective Despite the physical demands of their job, firefighters often experience declining health, a trend that has worsened with coronavirus infection. We investigated the correlation between physical activity (PA) and metabolic syndrome (MS) risk factors in male firefighters following COVID-19 recovery. Subject and Methods Pre- and post-COVID-...

Aims: Aerobic and strength exercises are commonly recommended for patients with type-1 diabetes (T1DM) but may not suit everyone. Body-weight functional exercise (BWFE) could offer an alternative for diabetes management. We aimed to compare blood glucose (BG), cardiovascular responses and enjoyment levels following a 30-min session of BWFE versus i...

We explored the relationships between expertise, in-game performance, posture, and screen interactions in mobile sports games. Twenty participants (10 experienced) played Disc-O, a turn-based air hockey game. Posture, phone holding style, play style, and screen metrics (displacement, velocity, touch size, pressure, and time to action) were compared...

We aimed to investigate sex-related glycemic and cardiovascular responses after intensity-(moderate) and duration-(30 min) matched interval (IAE) and continuous (CAE) aerobic exercise sessions in patients with type-1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Nineteen volunteers (10 female) participated in 2 randomized sessions (1:1 ratio). Heart rate, systolic and...

Caffeine has been shown to benefit physical aspects of different sports. In this paper, we aimed to understand the effects of caffeine on decision-making and the accuracy of soccer passes. Twelve young soccer players (16–17 years old and 20.8 ± 2.7 kg/m2 BMI) completed the tasks once after taking 3 mg/kg body mass of caffeine (CAF) and once after c...

Introduction: Affordance theory (Gibson, 1977) has been promoted as a relevant framework for understanding information-movement coupling in sport (Fajen et al., 2009). With virtual reality, it is now possible to show how decision-making is shaped by the perception of affordance, notability in "duel" situations against a virtual opponent (Watson et...

Soltani, P. (2022). Is perception of VAR outcome biomechanically accurate? ISBS Proceedings Archive, 40(1), 664-667 ● The purpose of this study was to understand if offside judgments, using different video assistant referee (VAR) technologies (video replay vs. guiding lines), are biomechanically accurate. Ten college students viewed video clips o...

The basketball court offers multiple sources of visual information for players to perceive the basket’s distance. Elevation angle of the basket in the player’s field of view would be of larger importance than stereoscopy and motion parallax (de Oliveira et al., 2009). Other sources of visual information should be considered to complete the picture...

Although virtual reality allows detailed analysis of sports movements, how interesting each level of analysis is to coaches and scientists? In basketball shooting, body kinematics and the ball success rate are at the ends of the complexity continuum. We investigated these variables to explore players’ expertise during shooting with a basketball sim...

Background: Active videogames (AVGs) have been primarily studied in healthy individuals. To use the technology in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients, cardiovascular and enjoyment responses should be studied and compared with traditional exercises. Objective: To compare the effects of AVG and running exercises on cardiovascular and enjoyment r...

Background: Falls are the leading causes of (non)fatal injuries in older adults. Recent research has developed interventions that aim to improve balance in older adults using virtual reality (VR). Purpose: We aimed to investigate the validity, reliability, safety, feasibility, and efficacy of head mounted display (HMD) systems for assessing and tra...

The population of older people is increasing. In this book chapter, the author reviewed some of the applications of virtual reality (VR) for seniors in form of a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis. This approach is commonly used to assess and guide internal and external parameters to accomplish a mission. Some of the...

Having investigated the effects of videos in the preceding chapter, this chapter assesses 2D animation, a form of presentation used in many coaching situations. The aim of this experiment was to investigate decision-making skills in different age groups (Under 16, 18 and 23) of elite academy footballers using a 2D animation simulation task of real...

The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether there were differences in decision-making skills between different age groups (Under 16, 18 and 23) of elite academy footballers on a video-based task of real-life football scenarios. It also explored the relationship between individual performance on the task and the performance of the football...

This article investigates the effect of using different playing speeds of 2D animation on the decision accuracy and reaction times of elite footballers. Groups of players from different age categories (under 16, under 18 and under 23 year olds) elite academy footballers watched 2D animations at five different ratios of real-life speed (0.5, 0.75, 1...

Virtual reality and gaming technologies may provide opportunities for older adults living in rural areas. In this presentation, I reviewed the available literature regarding the psychophysical benefits of virtual reality exergames. I also discussed the challenges and design consideration to improve the efficacy of such interventions.

For effective learning and training, virtual environments may provide lifelike opportunities, and researchers are actively investigating their potential for educational purposes. Minimal research attention has been paid to the integration of multi-user virtual environments (MUVE) technology for teaching and practicing real sports. In this chapter,...

Sports active video games (exergames) are accessible forms of physical activity which might also be used in physical education (PE) curriculum. The purpose of this chapter is to review some of the relevant applications of sports exergames for inclusion in PE and to characterize one of these games (swimming) from different aspects of biomechanics, p...

The population of older people is increasing. In this book chapter, the authors reviewed some of the applications of virtual reality (VR) for seniors in form of a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. This approach is commonly used to assess and guide internal and external parameters to accomplish a mission. Some of the...

Active video games (exergames) may provide short-term increase in energy expenditure. We explored the effects of gender and prior experience on aerobic and anaerobic energy systems contributions, and the activity profiles of 40 participants playing with a swimming exergame. We recorded oxygen consumption and assessed blood lactate after each swimmi...

Sports active video games (exergames) are accessible forms of physical activity which might also be used in physical education (PE) curriculum. The purpose of this book chapter is to firstly, review some of the relevant applications of sports exergames for inclusion in PE and secondly, to characterize one of these games (swimming) from different as...

Exergames may provide low-cost solutions for playing, training and rehabilitation. Exergame user research (EUR), studies the interaction between an Exergame and users, in order to provide feedback for game developers and safe and meaningful gameplay. Detailed evaluations and a coding system based on muscle activation levels are necessary to charact...

Exergames may provide low-cost solutions for playing, training and rehabilitation. Exergame user research, studies the interaction between an exergame and users, in order to provide feedback for game developers and safe and meaningful game play. Detailed evaluations and a coding system based on muscle activation levels are necessary to characterize...

The pop-up is one explosive movement executed to stand up quickly on the surfboard. This movement defines the transition from the horizontal to vertical phase of surfing. After paddling the hands are supported in parallel on the surfboard, under the chest. An extension of the arms is held to promote a strong impulse to take-off, the feet are guided...

Objective: Exergames may decrease sedentary video game playing in children. By evaluating the experiences of those playing these video games, we may learn valuable insights as to the potential uses of this new generation of video games for encouraging physical activity. The purpose of this study was to compare total and effective playing time betwe...

Swimming exergames may provide low-cost opportunities for teaching and practicing real swimming. The purpose of this study was to characterize the muscle activation during a swimming exergame. Ten healthy subjects played four swimming techniques using “Michael Phelps: Push the Limit” exergame by standing in front of Xbox360 and Kinect. Muscle activ...

Swimming exergames may provide low-cost opportunities for teaching and practicing real swimming. The purpose of this study was to characterize the muscle activation during a swimming exergame. Ten healthy subjects played four swimming techniques using “Michael Phelps: Push the Limit” exergame by standing in front of Xbox360 and Kinect. Muscle activ...

In this work-in-progress (WIP), kinematics of movement during playing virtual swimming exergame between novice and experienced players was analyzed in order to detect possible learning effects. Ten participants performed a 100-meter front crawl virtual swimming using Xbox and Kinect. A 12 camera Qualisys motion capture system tracked the position o...

Recreational athletes may listen to music or watch videos to prolong their exercise routines. In recent years, use of active videogames has increased. The effects of audiovisual encouragements have not been compared for their potential ergogenic effects on physiological variables during moderate- to high-intensity exercises. Here 60 sedentary healt...

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of resistance training on Leptin and other related hormones' changes on non-athlete female students. 40 non-athlete students (Age: 21±2.1 years, Body Mass: 62±6 kg, Height: 160±3 cm, BMI 7.24±5 and a maximum oxygen consumption 2.42±7.1 ml/kg/min) were recruited and randomly divided into two groups. S...