The healing possibilities of video games have become increasingly more important to many in the medical professions as research continues to show there are a variety of applications where specialized games can do wonders for patients suffering from a number of physical injuries, diseases and emotional trauma. The virtual reality experience is going to be brought to Veterans Administration hospitals in the United States in an effort to help vets who suffer from brain injuries they sustained while on active duty in combat zones. The conditions, known collectively as traumatic brain injuries or TBI, are very difficult for the vets to get over without extensive surgery and therapy so neuro rehab tech provider Kinetic Muscles, Inc has stepped up to the plate with to be awarded a 2 year grant which it will use to design software for helping vets recover normal function.
The company has already succeeded with programs designed to help those suffering from strokes and the effects of cerebral palsy, so this next step of gaming therapy will come as a expansion of their current product line. The testing for the software will be extensive and involve a large number of patients in order to discover which technologies offer the greatest benefit. Should the research prove new methods of treatment for such sensitive conditions as TBI, the uses could expand far beyond the Department of Defense and into the whole field of brain injuries that medicine works to try and alleviate with limited therapeutic options, most of which are extremely intensive and not cost effective for patients.
