Nintendo Wii Fanboy

We all know about the relationship between surgeons and the Wii. No, we don't mean Trauma Center, we mean real-life doctors using the tech behind the Wii to train them for surgery. This piece from ABC7 news in California shows one hospital where it's being put to work.

Surgical resident, Jeff Henke, commented that "this does really help." He further added that it "prepares you to enter the operating room." Now, we may be a bit biased, but we're not surprised that the Wii is such a diverse system. it's used to doing what no video game console could in the past.

[Via Codename Revolution]

Where in the past Wii Sports has been the ideal Wii-based solution for rehabilitation patients, Nintendo's newest craze, Wii Fit, is now stepping up to show everyone that it has something to offer outside of a really fun hula hoop mini-game. Now, sports trainers are looking to Wii Fit to help rehabilitate injured athletes.

"We are looking to incorporate Wii Fit into the athletic training room as far as rehabilitation, for example, on post-operative knees and ankles," said Sue Stanley-Green, professor of athletic training at Florida Southern College. She noted that the success of the console in other rehab scenarios fueled their interest in Wii Fit, stating that "Fitness-oriented video games are also being used more and more in nursing homes for rehabilitation," also adding "Fitness video games have some really good potential to improve fitness in everyone."



[Via Engadget]

CNN is all over the Wii Fit thing. First, they had Mario Armstrong come in and demo the package for them, now Dr. Sanjay Gupta is taking time out to discuss the benefits of using games as a health tool, namely in the rehabilitation sector. We've heard stories about places using Wii to help rehabilitate their patients, but it's now gaining more ground, as Dr. Gupta mentions the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is funding 12 different studies that will specifically see if games can be used as a means for making us healthier individuals.

If all the serious medical talk bores you, then laugh at the CNN employees doing the hula hoop minigame while one the Balance Board. They really get into it.


[Via Go Nintendo]

The Wii is further branching out into new areas of therapy, as we find out that not only is the console helping wounded troops and those who have suffered strokes and the like, but also to aid those in controlling their Parkinson's. When our obsession becomes less of a box to kill boredom and more a box to heal human life, you can bet that makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

It's all part of a Medical College of Georgia study to see if the Nintendo Wii can aid in the occupational therapy of those with Parkinson's. So, while it isn't a full-fledged commitment to the treating the disease through Wii, it's an acknowledgment that the Wii has helped others and could be something to help more folks in the future.

"We're hoping to show a slowing of the progression of the disease and a decrease in medication while increasing function. If we can teach patients to exercise and do functional activities, maybe we can have them take less medications," says Dr. Ben Herz, assistant professor of occupational therapy in the School of Allied Health Sciences and one half of the main team behind this study. "Because the Wii is interactive and you have to do certain functional movements to be successful," he goes on to say, "it's an effective modality for working with Parkinson's patients," says Dr. Herz. "One of the therapists uses the Wii for timing and loosening up, and the other uses it for coordination and balance issues."

[Via Go Nintendo]

If you were someone not living in the confines of North America, you might have thought we were all going crazy over here, throwing the old physical therapy ways out the window and openly embracing new, Wii-based solutions that might not be totally tested. But hey, we're not complaining, if the people say it helps, then we're all for it.

Well, England is finally getting with the times, as the Wii is being used in physiotherapy for some in the south-east portion of the country. Specifically, at Queen Victoria NHS Foundation Trust in East Grinstead, where Maureen Adams, the head of therapy, comments that when "recovering from an operation, such as a skin graft, patients may need recover normal use of their hands and arms. Using the Wii is a way of significantly improving movement, while not seeing the activity as therapy, which helps motivate them. Wii can also be done at home, so patients are able to continue their own personal therapies."

Basically, they're using it for all the same reasons as other folk have been using it. And hey, any way to help these folks regain movement and rebuild their physical selves, we're down with it.

Considering the Wii has been on shelves for over a year, we wouldn't call this "breaking news," but mainstream media hasn't ever been all that informed about gaming. Still, it's nice to see the console being covered from an angle other than "video games turn your child into a psycho killer." That and a 30-minute session of Wii three times a week can really help in the physical recovery process. It really is a wonderful little system.

See also: Video games more effective than medication for pain?

[Via Go Nintendo]

Wii Fanboy has presented many stories about how the Wii has been able to help those in need. Whether it be soldiers dealing with combat wounds or the local retirement homes' residents stay active, it's a system that has amazed one and all. Now, a Canadian researcher is finding that video games on the whole have become quite the aid for those with chronic pain.

The case of the Wii is especially interesting in regards to this study, because it's been shown to be an excellent physical therapy tool. Not only that, but the immersion factor has to be higher than that of the other current-gen systems. Sure, they have more photo-realistic graphics, but what gets you into the game more? Personally, we're pro-Wii, but then you probably knew that typing in the URL to our blog or however else you got here (tapping your heels together?).

The mass appeal of the Wii is something we, as well as you, fine reader (seriously, you look good, are you using a new shampoo?) know full well. Retirement communities, rehabilitation centers and now, even some gyms are utilizing it. Heck, we wouldn't be surprised if the console one day cured cancer on its own (probably using Wii Sports).

The latest center to take part in the phenomenon is none other than Bridgeport Hospital's Ahlbin Centers Inpatient Rehabilitation Unit. There, stroke victim Barbara Everlith is enjoying the wonders of the console, taking part in Wii Sports: Tennis and finding a new and exciting treatment option. Why, in the six weeks since beginning the program, her therapist Courtney Benedetto has said that Barbara has already gained some movement in her left hand. And, it's all thanks to the Wii.

[Via Tech.Blorge]

You know, we've reported on the Wii being used as a rehabilitation tool plenty of times over, but these stories never cease to amaze us. Take a trip with us to the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute at Minneapolis' Abbott Northwestern Hospital, where stroke victim, and 77-year-old semi-pro tennis player, Jerry Pope is finding the Wii to be quite the comfort during his recovery period. He explains that it is helping him in his journey to get back on the real court.

"I'm not a video game player," he explains, further adding that the Wii "is the only one I've ever played." Still, it's managed to hold his interest, as he did not have a taste for the conventional physical therapy exercises that follow a stroke. His wife, Gloria, explains that he was in bad shape following the stroke, but is now looking good and well on his way to recovery.

With it helping wounded soldiers recover and retirement communities to stay active, along with personal trainers utilizing it to help people to lose weight and stay fit, we wonder if there is anything the Wii can't do? Surely, at this pace, we're likely to find out it can cure cancer and provide you with a more luxurious, thicker head of hair come October.

The latest in the long line of stories about the Wii helping those in need finds us at Raleigh, North Carolina. Here, the Wake Med center is using the Wii to help those who've been in accidents or the recipients of disease. The idea to bring in the Wii was brought forth by the individual who delivers the wheelchairs, as he commented "People don't think of it as therapy. It's fun. It's a distraction, so the therapist can use it to do exercise activities that are hard to do."

[Thanks, hvnlysoldr; via The Tanooki]

So we know that the Wii is a big hit in retirement homes and on cruise ships, and may even be featured in gyms across America, but one rehabilitation center is using Nintendo's latest to help patients recover proper muscle functions. The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Canada is using the Wii in lieu of traditional therapeutic techniques -- such as hour-long sessions of throwing a ball across a room. Visiting doctor Grigore Burdea of Rutgers University praised the program, saying that patients embrace Wii therapy, and it not only helps them recover, but gives them a chance to lose themselves in the game, which helps to mitigate their pain levels. 34-year-old Albert Liaw, a patient in the hospital, suffered a stroke that sidelined his career as a boxer, and he's been using Wii Sports Boxing to improve the range of movement in his left arm, and hopes that due to the game, he'll at least be able to enjoy a career as a trainer, even if he can't get back into the ring as a competitor.

But the real application, as seen by those who've worked with it, lies in software not yet created. The Wii could easily be used, with the proper software, in place of a live therapist, and allow patients in remote areas to go through therapy while being monitored by remote. Until then, therapists at Glenrose will likely keep using Wii Sports, as demand at the hospital has been huge.

Japanese mag Nintendo Dream (truly, if only such wondrous publications were here in America as well) has related a tantalizing morsel. According to a ghetto Google translation (check after the break), a successor to a famed and well-known Nintendo franchise is coming to a Wii near you. What could it be? Donkey Kong? Kid Icarus? Such teasing articles are better left unpublished; we lose sleep over this stuff, you know. Cold sweats in the middle of the night kind of stuff.

There will be no posts between 3 and 4 today, due to therapy sessions.