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Nintendo’s Wii Game Used In Stroke Rehab

From www.tylerpaper.com:

MINNEAPOLIS — Physical rehab can be a major pain, but it’s all a game to Jerry Pope.

The 77-year-old semipro tennis player suffered a debilitating stroke in June and is using a hot new video game system to help him get back onto the real court. He’s one of several patients using the Nintendo Wii as part of an innovative program at the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute at Minneapolis’ Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

“I’m not a video game player,” Pope admitted during a recent rehab session at the hospital. “This is the only one I’ve ever played.”

Gripping the Wii’s unique motion-sensing wireless controller in his right fist, Pope swung his arm as if hitting a real tennis ball. The character onscreen responded by hitting the ball to a computer-controlled player in the virtual tennis game. Pope swung his arm each time the ball returned, and his Wii avatar responded in kind.

“Because of the interaction of the game, I get the physical sensation of playing tennis,” Pope explained later. “It really works. It can fool me into thinking that I’m doing what’s happening on the screen.”

Pope has been playing tennis for 60 years. His prowess on the senior circuit earned him induction into the U.S. Tennis Association’s Northern Hall of Fame in 1999. He was in Indianapolis for a national tournament when the stroke hit June 1. He was hospitalized there for 13 days before being moved to the Twin Cities for a 10-day hospital stay. READ MORE…