After a 2007 helicopter crash in Italy left Army Sgt. Mark Lalli’s brain and body damaged, the road to recovery took him to an unexpected place.

A cyber bowling alley.

The James A. Haley VA Medical Center in Tampa finds itself at the vanguard of a therapeutic revolution at the Department of Veterans Affairs, using a popular video game to bring veterans back from the brink.

One recent day at Haley, Lalli faced a wide-screen television hooked up to a Nintendo Wii (pronounced WE) game system.

Using a motion-sensitive controller in one hand, the 23-year-old swung his arm as if rolling a bowling ball while standing with help from a therapist. On the screen, a ball flew down the alley, clearing pins with all the sound-effects of reality. A spare.

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Gray Matters, LLC, a section of Westport family therapy clinic Living in Harmony, LLC, is offering neurofeedback training with specialized technology to children who are diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), to help them focus better and reduce anxiety by playing PlayStation 2 for 30 minutes.

“The system is driven by your thoughts,” said Gary Pearson, a marriage and family therapist at Living in Harmony, LLC.

How it works is each child wears a SMART Visor Sensor System cap by SMART BrainGames and under the cap, behind each ear, a sensor is placed. A sensor is also placed on top of the head under a band. Before the sensors are placed on the child, they are submerged in SmartWater that contains one tablespoon of baking soda.

When ready to use, the sensors are plugged into a SMART Box neurofeedback device, which showcases the child’s brainwaves on a neurotherapists’ computer. This action is called an electroencephalogram (EEG), which is a test that records the electrical activity of a person’s brain. By looking at the child’s brainwaves, the therapists can see if the person is focused or not.

The SMART Box device is licensed NASA technology.

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Wii rehab might sound like radical intervention for video game addicts, but it’s actually effective physical therapy for patients recovering from strokes, injuries, or surgeries. Otherwise tedious strength and coordination exercises go by a little easier if they involve waving a wireless controller to play virtual bowling, tennis, and golf. But it doesn’t stop there. The next step in video game rehab is “Air Guitar Hero,” which would allow amputees to rock out with the immensely popular Guitar Hero game using a mechanical arm wired to their chest muscles.

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They tested the Air Guitar Hero system on Iraq veteran Jon Kuniholm, who lost his right hand three years ago. With electrodes attached to what was left of his arm and a little practice, Kuniholm was able to score a respectable 70 percent on the easy level. “You’re doing something simple,” he says. “It’s not rocket science. But you have to do it fast and you have to time it right.”

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A teen getting into a video game is nothing new, but Dennis, a ninth-grader at Hoggard High School, was on Nintendo’s Wii Fit system as part of his physical rehabilitation program to recover from a torn ligament in his right knee.

Using a motion-detecting balance board, Dennis goes from virtual ski jumping to head-butting soccer balls, helping him readjust to balancing with both legs.

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From heraldnet.com:

“The gift that kept children playing golf, baseball and bowling in front of the family television set last Christmas brings that same fun to older adults recovering from strokes and joint replacement surgeries.

Nintendo’s Wii Sports is a video gaming system that uses a television screen and handheld controls. Last spring, the more advanced Wii Fit

The controls and balance board link players to a virtual version of themselves on the screen doing everything from aerobics to yoga.”

Read more…