Gamification of the Rehabilitation Process Might Have Innovations on the Horizon
Innovations in the video game industry over the last several years have not only made for high hopes in creating the better gamification of rehabilitation exercises but could also bring those innovations into homes. Games like Gabarello for the Lokomat designed in combined efforts by the Zurich University of the Arts, the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, and the Institute for Neuropsychology and Sensory Motor Systems Lab created opportunities for children and perhaps now adults with lower body motor skill loss. If gamification can help patients improve their mental outlook and physical capabilities, then this method of rehabilitation should incorporated whenever possible.
These innovative ideas that were released in 2010 now with the development of gaming technology like the Oculus Rift and the Virtuix Omni VR Treadmill could allow the usage of these rehabilitation games to enter homes rather than only hospitals. With an Omni directional treadmill the innovations of Gabarello could be put to use in a more entertaining fashion for adults as well as children. This would give audiences a broader range of rehabilitation exercises to overcome, and would gradually allow for participants to even play the games they love in a new and exciting manner just as well as if they were using a handheld controller.
Modifications to combine the systems may be a difficult task to approach, but it would seem that this could very well be a puzzle that all the pieces are aligned to solve. Rehabilitation is a painstakingly difficult process on almost all patients. If companies such as these could somehow find ways to incorporate design with a humanitarian outlook, then we may soon see gamification in many more medical practices. The future may hold an immersive, interactive, and entertaining approach to dealing with the hardships of life that humanity, as a whole, seems to crave.
Image credit: flickr
