Video games goed voor revalidatie beroerte slachtoffers

RDJ134 6 september 2015 om 18:02 uur

Meestal als video games in het nieuws komen is het omdat er iets met geweld is gebeurd of om gamers belachelijk te maken. Maar zo nu en dan duikt er een serieus onderwerp op, zoals nu op de website Fusion.net. Want door een experimentele behandeling revalideren mensen die een beroerte hebben gehad een stuk sneller dan op de normale manier. Dit komt omdat games de hersenen prikkelen en stimuleren. Dus zeker een mooi artikel om zo op je zondag avond te lezen.


Reynolds is determined to take back every inch of territory she lost, but that constraint-induced movement therapy will not help her. Her left side is too weak. So she's trying Buschmann's experimental video game therapy instead.

Buschmann and his advisor, UC Santa Cruz computer engineer Sri Kurniawan, are testing to see whether motion-sensing games can motivate stroke survivors to help themselves heal. They think that video games can help the brain and the body reconnect.

Buschmann created his first game by modifying a basic keyboard-and-mouse game from an open-source website. He simplified the background, added music and sound effects, and adapted it for the Kinect system. From this first game, Buschmann made three more. A month later, he set it up in five different homes within a few miles of UCSC. He visited Reynolds and four other stroke survivors to have them each play his game five times over a two-week period. They could choose from among four games to play for 20 minutes.

All of the volunteers who played Buschmann's games improved use of their weak sides. After two weeks, the ranges of motion in their shoulders improved. But Buschmann wants more stroke survivors to try the games; five players isn't enough to make any sweeping claims of victory.

"I wanted to do something in the field of virtual rehab, and it's a very crowded field," Buschmann said, explaining his motivation for the study. Researchers, doctors and physical therapists have been studying virtual therapies for two decades, developing games for neurological conditions ranging from dementia to multiple sclerosis.

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