Interactive video games are being trialled in a Tasmanian hospital to help patients recover from the debilitating impacts of stroke.
Physiotherapists and patients have already seen the software’s benefits over traditional therapy methods.
Anita Jupp was not much of a gamer before she suffered two strokes in September.
“I’d never played a computer game in my whole life,” she said.
The 69-year-old has very little control over her left side.
Her physiotherapist, John Cannell, is hoping that will change thanks to new video games for stroke rehabilitation.
“We’ve been working at this for two and a half weeks, we’re already noticing that she’s starting to use her arm more,” he said.
Ms Jupp said she is seeing improvement.
“There’s one game where you catch an apple, I couldn’t catch the apple for love or money when I first started, I can now,” she said.
Researcher Marie-Louise Bird from the University of Tasmania said they are working with the software’s developers in Canada.
“Some of the features of it that are quite unique are the fact that it calibrates every day when the person comes in, so as the person progresses and they get more movement in their upper limb then it can become more challenging,” she said.
The Launceston General Hospital is one of only three places in the world trialling the software.
Physiotherapists said the game’s immediate feedback encouraged patients to concentrate more and stay engaged with their rehabilitation.
“The amount of repetitions that people need after they’ve had a brain injury like a stroke is really high, we think probably more than 10,000 repetitions of a task are required for motor learning,” Dr Bird said.
Mr Cannell said some patients become frustrated with their progress and stop using their affected arm.
“So we’re hoping certainly for a lot of that group, we can actually give them things to really encourage them to keep going,” he said.
Ms Jupp said the results are encouraging.
“Yeah it gives me hope,” she said.
“I immediately see, I used my left arm, I used my left leg, I see the result.”
While the year-long trial is only running in hospitals, researchers are aiming for patients to eventually use the technology at home.