Body Games by Jonah Lehrer unveils the science behind the Wii and "how the Wii turns stupid arcade games into a passionate experience."  As it turns out, surprise surprise - emotion has a great deal to do with the Wii's success.  Click here to read the full article.

We at Blue Marble Game Co are excited to see what game developers do with Microsoft's Kinnect and Sony's Move.  Removing the need to have complicated, hand held controllers serves the rehabilitation community well.

Are any of you developing games for Kinnect or Move?

Breaking news - USA Today reports on Microsoft's Kinect less than 24 hours before E3.

Nintendo started the 'movement' with it's wireless Wii-motes.  Sony took it a step further with Move a video camera that translates physical motion into game play.  Essentially the player's body becomes the controller.  According to http://www.usatoday.com article, Kinect's built-in camera and mocrophone uses voice recognition and facial gesture technology in game play too.

One of the most significant issues in game play with patients working through a stroke or neurological impairment is the ability to activate buttons or grip a controller.  Clinicians have to be creative with velcro or tape to connect their patient's with a controller. 

Should Kinect or Move live up to the marketing specs, the rehabilitation community could enjoy new tools when seeking alternative methods to traditional therapy.

A few members have indicated they will be at E3.  If you can stop by Sony and Microsoft's displays, take pictures and ask questions.  Post your thoughts and let us know what you think here. Also and this is a shameless plug - Blue Marbles's Sheryl Flynn Ph.D. PT will be sharing a booth with Games for Health Ben Sawyer.  Stop by and say hi.

The full story on Microsoft's Kinect, as reported by USA Today is here - http://www.usatoday.com/tech/gaming/2010-06-14-vidgame14_ST_N.htm

 

 

What do you think about home healthcare is it pertains to physical rehabilitation?

Intel has a system that remotely monitors patients from the comfort of their home.  Data from the monitoring is sent to qualified medical professionals to make an assessment of the data.  If necessary the medical professional can call Mrs. Jones to get amplifying information or recommend that she go see a doctor.

While the devices in use in this article are not associated with rehabilitation, where is the physical rehabilitation community on this subject?  What if we had a video "game" that patients played and data was collected that could determine whether Mrs. Jones gait was deteriorating and indicative of a fall?


Excepts from the Washington Post Article: Medicare spends more than $12 billion a year on "potentially preventable" repeat hospital admissions, according to the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an independent agency that advises Congress. And that number, according to the commission, is likely to grow, given that the Census Bureau projects that by 2025 there will be nearly 64 million Americans older than age 65, an increase of more than a third over today's total.

The pilot projects are not designed to have doctors diagnose illnesses remotely or to substitute for hands-on care. Instead, they are intended to allow elderly or infirm patients to get ahead of changes in their chronic conditions that could tip them into a medical emergency.

Read the full article here - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/11/16/AR2009111602900.html