A team of students are using Wii Balance Board in concert with specialized motion-tracking system software to help patients with physical therapy. A team of undergraduates at Rice University in Texas have found that this method is a cost-effective way of helping patients recover from serious injuries. The team has linked five Wii Balance Boards together between a pair of handrails, used with a balance training system they created. The system is mostly being used with children at the moment.
The therapy is being used by children that have cerebral palsy, spina bifida or amputations. Patients play a game that requires them to hit particular spot on the Balance Boards with their feet, which in turn shoots enemies on-screen. As the patient gets good at the game, the difficulty ramps up, requiring quicker and more efficient movements. A short-term goal of the team is to get a working prototype up and running at the Shriners Hospital for Children, Houston, Texas, within the next month.
The students noted that the system cost far less than the $2,000 they had budgeted, because five Balance Boards costs considerably less than force plates.
Some of the inspiration for this system comes from Steven Irby, an engineer at Shriners' Motion Analysis Laboratory. He pitched the original idea to engineering mentors at Rice University.
"He (Irby) wants to get kids to practice certain tasks in their games, such as standing still, then taking a couple of steps and being able to balance, which is pretty difficult for some of them," said Michelle Pyle, one of the seniors on the project. "The last task is being able to take a couple of steps and then turn around."
"This isn't a measurement device as much as it is a game," Irby said. "But putting the two systems together is what makes it unique. The Wii system is not well suited to kids with significant balance problems; they can't play it. So we're making something that is more adaptable to them."
Source: Gamasutra
