What exactly is a stroke

stroke- a sudden loss of consciousness caused by an interruption in the flow of blood to the brain

Stroke History/facts
Almost 800,000 in the U.S suffer annually. Around 600,000 of these are first attacks, and 185,000 are
recurrent attacks.
• In 2005, 1/17 deaths in US was classified as stroke

Stroke death rate for 2005 was close to 150,000 (more prevalent in women)
World Health Organization announced 15,000,000 people suffer stroke worldwide each year. Of these,
5 million die and another 5 million are have unrecoverable damage

Stroke Treatment
Ex of stroke rehabilitation: griping and holding a cup
Stroke rehabilitation is the process where stroke survivors relearn skills that they have lost because of
brain damage. For example, coordinating leg movements in order to walk. Rehabilitation also teaches
survivors new ways of doing things to get around any remaining disabilities.

Treatment continued
Rehabilitative therapy begins in the hospital after the patient has been stabilized-often within 24 to 48
hours after the stroke. The first steps involve promoting independent movement because many patients
are paralyzed or seriously weakened. Patients are asked to change positions often when in bed and to
engage in several range-of-motion exercises to strengthen their impaired limbs.

Steps of Rehabilitation
1) Rehab in the hospital
2) Travel to specialized units
3) Home-based rehabilitation

Traditional Rehabilitation technique

Patients progress from sitting up and transferring between the bed and a chair to standing, bearing their
own weight, and walking, with or without assistance. Rehabilitation nurses and therapists help patients
perform progressively more complex and demanding tasks, such as bathing, dressing, and using a
toilet, and they encourage patients to begin using their stroke-impaired limbs while engaging in those
tasks.

Post-stroke rehabilitation involves physicians; rehabilitation nurses; physical, occupational,

recreational, speech-language, and vocational therapists; and mental health professionals.

Symptoms of stroke
loss of vision
loss of speech
loss in feeling/numbness
loss of motion
Attention and concentration deficiencies
Balance loss
Pain
Weakness and paralysis
Depression
Fatigue
Upper limb remains weak in up to 66% cases.

What's so special about Wii?

The Wii is used to improve motor function because it is a very popular game console that requires
human motion, more than that of other popular gaming systems. The Wii uses a motion sensor that is
picked up by the Wii, requiring individuals to swing, shake, and otherwise move the motion sensor.
Regular video games only reuire the movement of joysticks and pushed buttons as input for the video
game, which is more restricted than arm swings for the Wii.

Wii vs Other game Systems

This increased motion helps stroke victims. Because of the stroke, part of the brain has died.
Rehabilitation involves relearning skills that were lost as part of the stroke. The Wii's requirement of
motion allows the skills to be relearned. Both Xbox and Playstation, while very popular, do not require
enough motion to help victims relearn the skills--they aren't learning any.

Examples of Improvement
Wii saw 77-year-old Jerry Pope getting a workout playing a virtual tennis game. He suffered a
debilitating stroke in June. Pope said that the We has enabled him to regain his balance, and the use of
his arms.

"Not only am I moving the hand, my feet are moving, I am jumping around, it is as if I am really
playing the game. It is motivational, makes you feel like you are progressing, even if you are not and
that helps you," he said.

Before his stroke, Pope was a semi-pro tennis player. He initially tried the traditional exercises
recommended by physical therapists, but found them repetitive and boring.

He says the We is fun and it is helping him make progress. His therapists agree.

Traditional vs. Wii (continued)

Study by Dr. Gustavo Saposnikby divided 20 patients into two groups: one using the conventional
therapy while the other using Wii. Both groups underwent intensive therapy for two weeks with eight
60 minute sessions each. During the course of the research, it was shown that the group that used the
Wii console showed 30% more improvement over the group that used conventional methods. Aside
from the large margin of improvement gained from such method, the practicality of this technique was
also pointed out.

Results
The great thing about using virtual reality to combat strokes is that many of the games for the Wii
simulate intense and important repetitive tasks or everyday life. A necessary skill needed in life for
people.
Wii-stroke patients showed signs of better motor function, both fine and gross, manifested by
improvement in speed and grip strength
Not only is this new method very promising, safe, fun and engaging, but is also a very affordable
method for improving motor function.

Wii Games

Games are defined by rules, with a measurable outcome giving the patient tasks to carry out
Also have problem-solving activity, which gives the patients something to try to achieve
A series of meaningful choices provide patients with customizable rehabilitation

Reason for Wii Rehabilitaion

Challenge and competition creates an environment in which the patients wants to play/rehabilitate
Interactive experiences and social interaction make rehabilitation fun

Three reasons to use Wii Rehabilitation:

A fun and meaningful reason reason to rehabilitate
Gives the patients practice with handling failure
Difficulty can be adjusted for each patient

Advantages

Wii provides potential for effective home based rehabilitation.

There is no need for therapist to be present and the information recorded from playing Wii can be
uploaded via the internet

Difficulty can be set by changing speeds, sizes, and/or levels or game play
In-game changes can be made to determine a level of challenge suitable to for each patients

The Wii is good for rehabilitation because the enjoyment of playing, getting a good score, beating a
previous high score, improving motor function, and competition are all rewarding reasons to
rehabilitate using the Wii.