There’s still a lot of hope for stroke victims. Stroke experts in the U.K. are developing video games that will help victims restore the normal control of their arms and hands. Neuroscientists from Newcastle University are working with Limbs Alive, a company that specializes in the rehabilitation of hands and arms for people of all ages who have been through a stroke. One of the first games that the team has developed is Circus Challenge. The game lets patients learn various circus-related skills, from lion taming and juggling to high diving and trapeze work, all through wireless controllers. Check out the game after the break.
And just like any other game, the patients will move on to more challenging tasks that involve greater skill, strength, and coordination as they play along. Through a press release, Pediatric Neuroscience Professor Janet Eyre of Newcastle University said that the video games will enable patients to stay engrossed in the competition and action of the circus characters while forgetting that the purpose of the game is therapy in the first place. A 68-year old Danny Mann who was once a ship builder, suffered from a stroke in February.
He said that he has never played a video game before trying out the Circus Challenge game. “The therapy exercises I normally have to do are dull but necessary, but this game is something different, which encourages me to keep going with my therapy. I would really like to play with my grandchildren. I can’t think of a better motivation than sharing a game with them to help me on my road to recovery, ” Danny Mann said. The team is hoping to soon include telemonitoring into the game so that a therapist can watch a patient’s progress remotely and help them with the next steps.
Filed in ..