Hospital uses Wii Fit to help amputees January 7, 2009
Patients are able to practice using their prosthetic limbs with the help of Wii Fit and the balance board.
Seacroft Hospital in Leeds England recently garnered attention for utilizing the Wii in conjunction with Wii Fit as a means of rehabilitation and physical therapy.
Physiotherapists at the hospital are among the first in the country to incorporate sessions of Wii Fit into the schedule of patients learning to use a lower prosthetic limb. Senior physiotherapist Lynn Hirst states that many times patients have trouble “getting their weight through the prosthetic limb.” However, with the aid of the balance board, Wii Fit allows patients to see “where they are taking their weight.”
Many of the Wii Fit games are similar to actual physical therapy exercises, and Hirst adds that there are many “lively games” that help “[improve] their core stability and their balance.” For example, Wii Fit’s skiing helps patients learn balance, control, and cooperation between a real and prosthetic limb.
[ NWR ]
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