Medutainment

Games are a major part of my life and it’s so exciting to see the combination of games into the health arena. This page will be dedicated to all the current available games being developed to improve healthcare. It will be updated as I review each game.

Medutainment = Medicine + Entertainment

Research being done

• Team formed at PRESCENCCIA researches method to use games for paraplegic patients
  Description: Paraplegic patient navigates through a virtual world using a brain-computer interface with 90% accuracy.
  Target: disabled patients
  Developer: University College of London and Graz University of Technology
  
  

Games for Patients

• Amazing Food Detective
  Self-Description: There has been a mysterious outbreak of unhealthy habits hitting too many boys and girls. If we don’t solve these cases, and fast, kids might not make the right food and exercise choices as they grow, and that could be trouble!
  Target: 9 to 10 years old
  Developer: Kaiser Permanente
  Other: Article

• Re-mission
  Self-Description: Lead Roxxi, your gutsy and fully armed nanobot, through challenging missions and rapid-fire assaults on malignant cancer cells, wherever they hide
  Target: Children
  Developer: HopeLab
  Other: Article

• ROC
  Self-Description: ROC promotes positive youth mental health by adapting content from effective psychological intervention.
  Target: 16 – 25 years old
  Developer: Inspire Foundation
  Other: Article

• Telekinesis Health Games
  Self-Description: Neurosky and Emotiv Systems are developing games based on brain-waves with the goal of boosting mental abilities for users, boost focus abilities of ADD patients, and enable paralyzed patients to move in a virtual world.
  Target: ADD , Autisum, paralyzed individuals
  Developer: NeuroSky and Emotiv Systems Inc.
  Other: Article

Games for Medical Professional Training

• Pulse!!
  Self-Description: Pulse!! is the first ever, immersive virtual learning space for training health care professionals in clinical skills. Cutting-edge graphics recreate a lifelike, interactive, virtual environment in which civilian and military heath care professionals practice clinical skills in order to better respond to injuries sustained during catastrophic incidents, such as combat or bioterrorism.
  Target: Medical and nursing students
  Developer: BreakAway; Pulse!! is being developed in partnership with Texas A & M University – Corpus Christi and is funded from a federal grant from the Department of the Navy’s Office of Naval Research.
  Other: Article

 

 

• Perform Coronary-Bypass Surgery
  Self-Description: Open heart surgery is often cited as the most invasive of all medical procedures. In this interactive you assume the role of a surgeon in coronary bypass surgery. The procedure is represented in 13 steps from prep to patient recovery. At each stage, you will be supplied with instructions on how to proceed and then asked to carry out an over-simplified version of the actual procedure.
  Target: General
  Developer: ABC.net.au
  Other: Article

• Artificial Anatomy
  Self-Description: When you see a mystery image on the left of your screen, you’ll be prompted to identify the body part. Use your mouse to find and select the proper body part from the full size anatomical model. Don’t forget to look for additional answers by turning Jerome. There are 10 parts in all. See how many parts you can place.
  Target: General
  Developer: Smithsonian: National Museums of American History
  Other: Article

• Virtual Hip Replacement
  Self-Description: Take on the role of the Surgeon throughout a hip replacement surgery!
  Target: General
  Developer: Edheads
  Other: Article

 

Game Consoles and Health

• GlucoBoy
  Self-Description: By itself, the Glucoboy is an advanced blood glucose meter that is extremely accurate and highly precise using only a 0.6µL sample of blood! When used with the Nintendo Game Boy® Advance System or the GRiP incentive-based web community, Glucoboy becomes part of an entire network that rewards testing compliance and good health management.
  Target: Diabetic pediatric patients
  Console: Nintendo Gameboy or DS Lite
  Other: Article

• HOPE
  Self-Description: HOPE is the acronym for the Hospital-based Online Pediatric Environment. It is a network that will allow pediatric patients the ability to meet with, relate to, and (most importantly) play games with other patients in hospitals around the country. By kindling the spirit of adventure, sports and community building, HOPE seeks to allow children with various ailments to understand that they are not alone, and that they possess heroic potential.
  Target: pediatric patients
  Console: XBox
  Developer: Johns Hopkins University, headed by Arun Mathews M.D.
  Other: Article

• Wii
  Target: Fitness, Cerebral Palsy, Rehabilitation
  Console: Wii

• WiiFit
  Target: Fitness
  Console: Wii

 

[Last modified: 12/11/07]