Get Gaming: The Emotional, Physical and Psychological Benefits of Video Games

Get Gaming: The Emotional, Physical and Psychological Benefits of Video Games (via Nvate)

By Bobby Miller Interactive, online games can be used to help people overcome phobias and other mental illnesses, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. Even games designed for entertainment can benefit a person’s mental health. For instance, “Tetris” can divert a person’s attention away from…

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Physical Therapy and Technology Partner to Improve Services Provided to Veterans

Sherrie Glasser-Mayrsohn: Physical Therapy and Technology Partner to Improve Services Provided to Veterans (via MarketWired)

SOURCE: Metro Physical & Aquatic Therapy February 18, 2013 06:00 ET Sherrie Glasser-Mayrsohn, Physical Therapy Professional, Sheds Light on the Way in Which Video Games Can Actually Contribute to Physical Health and Wellbeing NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Feb 18, 2013) - Video games have, over the years…

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Wii, Kinect and SimplyHome & Tech-savvy Seniors

Wii, Kinect and SimplyHome – Tech-savvy Seniors (via http://send2pressnewswire.com)

ASHEVILLE, N.C., Nov. 16 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — So, what do Microsoft’s new Xbox Kinect, Nintendo’s Wii and SimplyHome have in common? SimplyHome’s assistive technology is bringing its clients to the next level in independent living and underlying innuendos in Wii and Kinect may also have…

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Nintendo Wii rehabilitates stroke victims

Jan. 9, 2013, 4:30 a.m.

UP TO 20 stroke victims are being sought for a new rehabilitation program that uses Nintendo Wii being trialled in Armidale.

Penelope McNulty, a neurophysiologist at Neuroscience Research Australia, said between 60 and 90 people in Armidale suffered a stroke every year.

She called for volunteers for the 14-day program, which will take place at the Broadband Smart House in Queen Elizabeth Drive later this month.

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“The therapy uses latest information about the neuroplasticity of the brain to help rehabilitate stroke victims, “ Dr McNulty said yesterday.

“It’s an intensive, regime based on the Wii that results in significant improvements in the way stroke patients are able to use their hands and arms.

“The Wii is inexpensive, easy to use and fun. This type of rehabilitation motivates patients to complete their therapy, which is essential to maximise recovery.”

Dr McNulty will follow the progress of the volunteers through Skype from her Sydney office.
Volunteers must be able to make their way independently to the home in Queen Elizabeth Drive and provide details of a carer.

Volunteers must also have some disability in one upper limb. They will use the Wii remote in their more affected hand to control play and augment their formal therapy with daily home practice that progressively builds towards three hours per day over the program.

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Can exergames increase physical activity?

Posted by John Ferrara on June 7, 2012

Earlier this year, a study published in the journal Pediatrics found that five games that are marketed with the promise of increasing players' physical fitness produced no actual difference in activity. 78 kids between 9 and 12 were given Wii consoles, and then one group was given a couple of exergames while a control group was given "inactive" games like Madden and Mario Kart. The kids wore devices to measure their physical activity, and they kept logs of when they played.

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To be certain, the study was performed by a very accomplished group of researchers. The lead author, Tom Baranowski of Baylor College, is one of the most widely published researchers of health games. And this was a very well-designed study, printed in the foremost journal on children's health. Nevertheless, the study should not be read to mean that games can't affect physical activity and can't have a positive impact on public health. That's because it didn't account for the most influential factor in a health game's impact -- its design.

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President’s Council on Fitness backs Wii, Kinect and other video games.

By Lenny Bernstein,
Published: May 15

I couldn’t ignore the irony in the April 30 announcement that the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition had decided to team up with the Entertainment Software Association to demonstrate “how to use video games to promote physical activity.”

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There are so many active video games on the market now that the term “exergaming” entered the lexicon a few years ago. Today, you can find Wii bowling in assisted-living facilities and Dance Dance Revolution in West Virginia schools. The American Heart Association has already teamed with Nintendo. The managed-care giant UnitedHealth Group announced last week that it believes “the intersection of health and video gaming holds enormous potential benefit for individuals, families and the entire health care system.”

So perhaps it was inevitable that the venerable government organization and the trade group that has its hands on the controls of today’s youth entertainment would get together. Under the plan, kids can earn their Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA+) certificate by using active games to help them get 60 minutes of exercise, five days a week for six weeks. Adults must move for 30 minutes a day. There is also a nutrition component to the challenge (hence the “plus” in PALA+).

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Neuroscientists develop game for stroke rehabilitation, give the Wii a run for its money

By Alexis Santos posted May 20th 2012

Think the Wii has the market cornered on gaming rehab? Think again -- neuroscientists at Newcastle University are developing a series of motion controlled video games to make stroke rehab more fun and accessible. The team's first title, dubbed Circus Challenge, lets patients digitally throw pies, tame lions and juggle to help them build strength and regain motor skills. As players progress, the game ratchets up its difficulty, presumably to match pace with their recovery.

Although Limbs Alive, the game's publisher, has only described their motion controller as "next-generation," it affirms that the game will be playable on PCs, laptops and tablets later this year. In an effort to lower costs and provide at-home therapy, the team hopes to leverage a £1.5 million award from the UK's Health Innovation Challenge Fund to build a system that will allow therapists to monitor patient progress remotely. The whole enchilada still needs some time to bake, but you can hit the break for a video and the full press release.

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