Boaz Hoffman

Central Michigan researching virtual reality game physical therapy, helping veterans with brain injuries

MOUNT PLEASANT, MI A virtual reality game Central Michigan University is researching could help soldiers recover from brain injuries. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan gave CMU a one-year, $84,314 grant to expand the work to see how the technology could help American soldiers. Performing real-world tasks in a regular therapeutic setting is limited by the clients ability, frustration and lack of success, which can demotivate the patient from practicing, said Ksenia Ustinova, a CMU physical therapy professor. Game-based rehabilitation offers a variety of scenarios like skiing or crossing the street in which mistakes do not pose any risk to the participant and criteria for performance success can be scaled according to the individuals ability. This is the program's second grant; the U.S. Department of Defense in 2010 awarded CMU $391,000. The Blue Cross Blue Shield grant will support the quality of treatment and access to rehabilitation. CMU's physical therapy, computer science, information technology and psychology departments are working together on the research in the university's Virtual Realty Laboratory in the Health Professions Building. The lab has an 82-inch 3-D TV, a laptop computer and a motion capture system that converts the patients body into an on-screen avatar. According to CMU, the 3-D games help patients build motor and cognitive abilities by changing the timing and precision of the environment. One example is a skate boarding game, which patient Patty Fyke used. She said it helped her strengthen her muscles and mind after a car accident left her injured.