JustOT, Occupational Therapy Jobs

Computer games 'improve gait and balance in Parkinson's'

Thursday 20th October 2011

Computer-based physical therapy games can help with movement in Parkinson's disease, a new study has shown.

Research revealed that such therapies were able to improve walking speed, balance and stride length after three months.

University of California scientists teamed up with serious games developer Red Hill Studios to develop the games, which encourage scientifically tested physical movements to help people with functional impairments and diseases.

Nine "clinically inspired" games were designed to improve coordination in people with Parkinson's disease by focusing on specific movements and gestures that were known to stave off some of the symptoms of the neurodegenerative condition.

The games, which were similar to those played on the Nintendo Wii and Kinect, allowed subjects to win points by moving their bodies in certain ways.

Multiple difficulty levels allowed researchers to determine the therapeutic games for each subject's particular abilities.

A custom sensor suit with nine tracking sensors was created to analyse subjects' movements with higher resolution and accuracy than is possible with consumer gaming platforms.

The PC-based system sent encrypted data to a secure database in order for the scientists to track the daily performance of the subjects.

Bob Hone, creative director of Red Hill Studios explained: "Each subject found his or her own gaming 'sweet spot' - the spot where the physical challenge was not too hard, not too easy, just right.

"And when subjects mastered one game level, they often moved on to harder levels for more beneficial effect. The subjects improved their games scores while improving their gait and balance."

After playing the games for 12 weeks, 65 per cent of game players with Parkinson's demonstrated longer stride length, 55 per cent increased gait velocity and 55 per cent reported improved balance confidence.

Hone also said the game had proved very popular with participants. He said that some subjects were playing more than the specified three times per week and had to be asked to stop due to the structured nature of the study.

Written by Megan Smith