You’re Joking, Right – Video Games for Stroke?

When I was growing up I was always bugging my parents to get one of those Atari sets that plugged into the TV. They seem simple today. But at the time it was high technology. They were fun, inexpensive, easy to learn and highly addictive.

You'll remember from my last article there are 5 factors that make a big difference to helping a stroke afflicted brain to reach its recovery potential. And I warned you that some of the ways of putting them into practice might surprise you, such as putting a piece of real chocolate cake on a plate. Well, the experts (bioengineers I mean, not bakers) have realised that computer games hit not one, but all five factors that the evidence suggests will aid stroke recovery.

1. They involve consistent and repeated movement.
2. They provide rewards to incentivise success, with high scores and new features.
3. They get incrementally more challenging as the user's ability improves.
4. They involve decision making and problem solving.
5. They can be made easy to operate alone without constant help or supervision.

Physiotherapists have been testing what sort of computer games best help people to recover from a stroke at home. At one extreme, you've got your PlayStations: fun and easy-to-install – but of next-to-no therapeutic use. At the other extreme are sophisticated hospital-grade robotic-type systems. These are medically designed, but cost-prohibitive and really useful only to a trained specialist.

The perfect balance for home stroke people is in the middle: something that's been designed specially to aid stroke recovery, but also which your carer can easily set up at home. The evidence so far says to me that a simple, flexible system made for stroke is going to be best – in the top right quadrant of the matrix below.

 
It's like the electric toothbrush. It doesn't replace the dentist, but you know it does an expert's job of keeping your teeth and gums healthy in between visits. And it's kind of fun to use.

Next time, you'll hear how a home computer system that I've used with stroke people helped them achieve some surprising things for themselves.