Limbs Alive, a company founded by researchers at Newcastle University in the United Kingdom, has teamed up with Pitbull Studios to develop a collection of ten computer games called Circus Challenge designed to assist people of all ages in recovering from strokes. With the use of Wii handsets, patients engage in a series of exercises that help them regain the ability to use both hands simultaneously, while strengthening their muscles and improving motor coordination.
The games can be played on a PC, a tablet, or on a TV with HDMI interface. Patients are guided through the therapeutic movements by a figure in the lower right hand corner of the screen. As the patient copies the moves, he virtually engages in high diving, juggling, and pie throwing instead of seemingly endless repetitions of an exercise. The difficulty level increases as the patient makes progress. The patient undergoes evaluation by clinical personnel on a regular basis to chart his progress.
While the first patient who comes to mind in a conversation about strokes may be a senior citizen or a middle aged person, they happen in children as well due to birth injuries. One of the most common consequences regardless of the patient's age is hemiplegia, or weakness on one side of the body. No matter how old or young, all ages of stroke victims need to regain use of the upper body on the impacted side by engaging in activities that help to develop or reconnect the neural pathways from the brain to the limbs while enhancing motor skills and building strength.
Research has shown that the best way to develop or facilitate recovery of upper body function is through challenging, high intensity, repetitive movement. For both children and seniors, playing video games helps the process along in several ways. The motor skills learned or re-learned while playing the games translate into real life situations more easily than exercise based therapy that is task-specific. Video games help in the development of perception-based skills, eye-hand coordination, cognition, and attention.
Compliance with a treatment plan using action video games gets a boost from several factors. The games can be played at home on equipment easily found at any consumer electronic store, enhancing accessibility and eliminating the need for frequent visits to clinics. While video games are an aspect of everyday life for most children, a growing number of seniors have started enjoying them as well. Because the emphasis is on what the client can do, he gets a morale boost. Most importantly, the games provide an amusing, engaging way to comply with a therapeutic treatment plan. In addition to a higher level of compliance, action video games such as Circus Challenge are cost effective. The patient saves money on clinic and doctors' visits and the need for transportation services due to disability are reduced as well.
Limbs Alive was a 2010 finalist in the Blueprint Awards, won the 2010 Partnership with NHS award, received honors at the 2011 Medilink UK Innovation Awards, and won the 2011 Best National Health Service Innovation Award. They have received coverage in tech and medical blogs, including Wellcome Trust's.
Fran Jablway
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Hulet Smith, OT
