Wii-habilitation: is there a role in trauma?

Journal article

Rehabilitation forms an essential component of the therapeutic continuum in multiply injured patients. Effective rehabilitation programmes assist patients in optimising their level of physical, psychological and social function, while also reducing the length of patient stay, re-admission rates and use of primary care resources. A recent report from the National Audit Office on trauma care within the UK highlighted rehabilitation as an area of trauma patient care that frequently fell short of the standards expected. The current decline in the economy is likely to impact upon the financial resources available to address these concerns particularly recognising the high dependency on human resources. As a result, those involved in the rehabilitation of injured patients will need to develop new, innovative, cost-effective strategies to improve the current rehabilitation programmes available. These programmes need to intervene early and provide task-orientated training along with high repetition intensity. Such programmes not only test patient motivation, but also frequently demand a high degree of therapist supervision. Efforts logically should therefore focus on designing interventions that engage and motivate patients and encourage increased therapist-independent patient rehabilitation. Virtual reality (VR) offers a possible solution. VR is a technology that allows the user to directly interact with a computer-simulated environment. This technology, developed initially for military training, has now become widely available through video games. The potential for VR interfaces to create an environment that encourages high repetition intensity has been exploited by numerous vocational training programmes, such as laparoscopic surgical skill training. It is now conceivable that computer-based rehabilitation programmes could be developed using current, widely available, affordable virtual reality platforms, such as the Nintendo® Wii. This review aims to discuss the use of modern computer technology in patient rehabilitation and how this may be applied to trauma patients. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Authors: Butler, D; Willett, K

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: Injury
• Volume: 41
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 883-885
• Publication date: 2010-09-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.injury.2010.03.024
• EISSN: 1879-0267
• ISSN: 0020-1383
• Language: English
• Keywords: Physical Therapy Specialty; Treatment Outcome; Video Games; Female; Male; Humans; Patient Participation; Wounds and Injuries