(Player collecting gems on Kinect.)

At the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), researcher Belinda Lange and her team are trying to help those in physical therapy by developing a game that will get patients moving again. Before they began to develop a new game, they wanted to use existing games as rehab games, but quickly found out that those existing games were either too dificult or they did not have enough data to prove those games will help patients. So instead of conducting new research, they decided to build their own game that would use the motion capture technology of the Wii and the Kinect.

One of the games made by the research team was for the Kinect, where players would reach out and try to grab jewels from a cave. With different settings, players will always be reaching out trying to grab different things. The game can be personalized for a specific type of movement disorder, meaning if the patient has a difficult time moving a certain part of the body, the game focuses on improving that part of the body. Therapists will also be able to repkay the motion of each playthrough, making progress of the patient very clear to the clinician.

With a contract from the U.S. Military, the USC Institute for Creative Technologies is making interactive technology not only for therapy, but also for education and training. With more focus from different companies wanting to improve themselves through technology, there will be a boost for video games in different fields other than entertainment.

Source: blogs.laweekly.com/arts/2012/02/video_games_usc_therapy.php