In a marriage of medicine and gaming culture, virtual reality games have been investigated in the rehabilitation of stroke patients.1
Researchers in Barcelona have investigated novel technology-based neurorehabilitation techniques in the treatment of strokes. A special aspect of this technique was the fact that the game could be adjusted and personalized for each patient.
While a stroke causes massive damage, brain cells can reorganize themselves. Therefore the aim of rehabilitation is to maximize the effect of this plasticity. The Spanish research team developed the Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS), a virtual reality-based neurorehabilitation program .
The RGS tracks arm and finger movements and maps them onto a virtual environment. The user controls the movement of two virtual limbs that are viewed on a screen. The RGS "game" that the researchers used was called Spheroids (see figure below). In this game the user has to catch and place spheres that move towards them. The idea behind this is that, when the patients use their limbs and observe the virtual limbs move in a way that is controlled by them, conditions are created that stimulate the reorganization of neurons involved in motor functions.
The researchers also tried to make the tasks just challenging enough to remain engaging for the patients. The RGS automatically adjusts the difficulty of the task with respect to the measured performance of a subject in order to keep them encouraged and to maximize effect.
The researchers concluded that the RGS is a promising neurorehabilitation tool that can be used to alleviate the deficits brought on by lesions to the central nervous system as the ones caused by stroke.
1 Cameirão MS, Bermúdez i Badia S, Oller ED, Verschure1 PFMJ. Neurorehabilitation using the virtual reality based Rehabilitation Gaming System: methodology, design, psychometrics, usability and validation. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 7:48 (2010).
Source
Researchers in Barcelona have investigated novel technology-based neurorehabilitation techniques in the treatment of strokes. A special aspect of this technique was the fact that the game could be adjusted and personalized for each patient.
While a stroke causes massive damage, brain cells can reorganize themselves. Therefore the aim of rehabilitation is to maximize the effect of this plasticity. The Spanish research team developed the Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS), a virtual reality-based neurorehabilitation program .
The RGS tracks arm and finger movements and maps them onto a virtual environment. The user controls the movement of two virtual limbs that are viewed on a screen. The RGS "game" that the researchers used was called Spheroids (see figure below). In this game the user has to catch and place spheres that move towards them. The idea behind this is that, when the patients use their limbs and observe the virtual limbs move in a way that is controlled by them, conditions are created that stimulate the reorganization of neurons involved in motor functions.
The researchers also tried to make the tasks just challenging enough to remain engaging for the patients. The RGS automatically adjusts the difficulty of the task with respect to the measured performance of a subject in order to keep them encouraged and to maximize effect.
The researchers concluded that the RGS is a promising neurorehabilitation tool that can be used to alleviate the deficits brought on by lesions to the central nervous system as the ones caused by stroke.
1 Cameirão MS, Bermúdez i Badia S, Oller ED, Verschure1 PFMJ. Neurorehabilitation using the virtual reality based Rehabilitation Gaming System: methodology, design, psychometrics, usability and validation. Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 7:48 (2010).
Source
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