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Xbox for Stroke Rehabilitation
An anonymous reader writes "Using an Xbox modified to run Linux, researchers have developed virtual reality hand exercises for rehabilitating stroke patients. An inexpensive glove controller is used to interact with the Xbox. The hardware cost is a tenth of a comparable commercial hand rehabilitation system, leading to the possibility of deployment in patients' homes."
In case you are wondering what exactly the big deal is about stroke rehab, here is a snippit of a government factsheet:
Information wants a fueled airplane waiting at the hangar and no one gets hurt.
... too bad it's a violation of the DMCA.
*shakes head and walks away in shame*
We're partying like its 1989!
But does it run Li.. oh wait, nevermind.
I don't see what the big deal in using an Xbox for this is. Wouldn't it be easier to just use an old PC with Linux on it?
Wouldn't modding an Xbox to run Linux require a mod-chip, and thus run afoul of the beloved DMCA?
Here I am using a mouse like a sucker...
Using an XBox to overcome masturbation problems when Viagra isn't enough.
This is a yet another reminder of the importance of preventive measures!
The creatures outside looked from Alt-Right to Antifa; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
A GNOME is the best paperweight. It weighs as much as a dummy.
Microsoft lawyer says you're breaking the DMCA and this is how we're going to handle it
1. A small team of software developers will sit down with you and write some rehab software for the XBox 360.
2. Microsoft will donate the software and equivalent number of 360's to hospitals and clinics.
3. We have a big press conference and you tell how Microsoft is helping stroke victims.
-OR-
We take you to court and do the same thing without you.
This is exactly why DRM lockdown is such a bad thing for 'promoting the sciences and useful arts'. For xbox 360 these people would have to buy a sdk and pay licensing fees out the wazoo. It would never happen.
The irony of "free markets" is that the less regulation the worse they perform. Monopolies are crackable DRM.
Reading this excerpt from the article:
"In one exercise, a patient attempts to wipe clean four vertical bars of "dirty" pixels that obscure a pleasant image on a computer display."
You've gotta wonder what'd happen if you loaded pr0n images in there. I'd be doing my exercises all... night... long...
First, this is not to praise the xbox, but this is clear example where commonly available technology trumps expensive proprietary solutions. As more and more technologies get built into mainstream hardware, we'll see less "special" devices that cost arm and leg, which perform the same function.
Let's also not forget that XBOX is a loss leader though, it shows an inherent weakness in this model: you never know of your clients will go the whole path so you can return your money (will they buy games, will they buy enough games etc.).
It'll be definitely fun if laboratories start abusing PlayStation3 for a parallel FPU computations.. I mean we know most of it is a trick to demonstrate how magically powerful PS3 is.. But imagine if this indeed happens: those scientist won't buy games nor pay monthly fees for online services. They'll just keep stacking PS machines which are bought at a loss from Sony and use them for something completely different.
Hey, they could get in big trouble for that! its illegal to run linux on X-box! Those unscroupulus pigs!
Oh, wait... Except that there are big technological advances to be made out there, but researchers all across the USA are scared to death that they are gonna violate a IP law (such as the DCMA) and be whisked to jail, be sued, or worse.
I love the fact that these guys didnt let a little thing like a federal law stop them from inventing a solution that can help millions of people worldwide. They deserve a big kudos.
IP Laws that stifile scientific progress and humanitarian advances? Naw, never!
Why do we have to live in a country where intellectual property and B.S. politics are put before scientific research and advancement?
shame on you, congress.
-ND
between strokes and epilectic seizures? If so, this is a very bad idea... regardless, there's nothing special about this... an xbox is just a computer, after all...
Wait, what?
Who can honestly say that they did not immediately think of VR pr0n and ... well ... ahem ... you know...
Using the XBox and Hot Coffee mod I was able to work on my stroke months ago.
The Geek shall inherit the Earth
Um, yeah. I guess you have to get the Xbox to run Linux first before you can use it to show your porn, um, I mean "virtual reality environment" in order to do your, um, "hand exercises"...
Use 'slashdot stuff' in the subject line in any email you send me if you want to get past the spam filter.
Sometime in the mid 80's I was diagnosed with several "learning disabilities". The only one I still carry to this day is Dyslexia (see my sig). Another one was reaction and hand eye co-ordination.
For the latter the doctor told my parents to get me to play video games. They, at first, purchased me an (expensive at the time - nearly 3000 dollars) 8086. Unfortunatly for me (and thier money - it wasn't until my senior year in high school - '93 - that I became interested in computers) I never really got interested in it and picked up an Atari which I wore out. I've played video games constantly since then - it worked in my case. I'm sure they wished they had just bought the atari to begin with, but where happy I had something that I wanted to use that was also therapy for my problems.
I sometimes wonder if the same treatment would be prescribed today given the current attitude towards games.
The saddest part is that they had to hack the system to do this. I don't really know why they didn't use a PC and one of the free dev kits around - some are quite good (and many of the pay ones are free for research). Maybe they couldn't really find a replacement for the glove, but then it would seem easier to hack it into a joystick port than what they did. Ahh well, at least the research was done.
------- Sorry about the spelling, I suffer from two problems. Dyslexia makes it difficult to spell well, lazy makes it
Though it's clear that this project is illegal as long as they use XBox due to DMCA, why not use a cheap PC instead? Maybe 1 Xbox may be cheaper than 1 PC, but you can use the processing power of 1 PC for doing multiple services at the same time. Also hacking Xbox is just a needless addition to personal costs.
Isn't the soft mod exploit legal to install Linux with? What happens you ask? 1. Download gamesave for Mech Assault or another game that has been exploited 2. Open the save in the game of choice 3. Launch Linux Installer While thats obviously a simple run down of what you do, is that actually in violation of anything? You aren't modifying the hardware to run insigned code and crap, you are simply making the game overflow, crash, and then run a BIOS loader which loads a Linux installer. Am I missing something here?
"Those who would sacrifice essential liberties for a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." - BenF
The act of circumventing the copy protection on the XBox (to get around the Dashboard) is illegal by the DMCA. The DMCA doesn't care if you use software or hardware mechanisms to circumvent (even poor) copy protection. Consider that the DMCA even applies to copy protection on CDs that is activated with Autorun. By holding shift or disabling Autorun you're effectively circumventing that copy protection and therefore violating the DMCA in the strictest sense.
There are a few exceptions as pertain to Fair Use rights, but the DMCA is not like a patent. It cannot be invalidated because the circumvention is "obvious" or "so easy a 3 year-old could do it accidentally". It's a broad, stupid, law written to protect those who couldn't deal with our court system and the existing copyright laws.
...and that's the way the cookie crumbles.
So you're telling me that there is no way for them to mass produce a similar pc box with this purpose in mind at a similar cost, and that they had to use semi-legal means for deployment? There has to be at least one hardware manufacturer willing to do a better volume discount for either nonprofit or specially targeted purposes instead of resorting to modified xboxen.
...and essentialreality.com looks like it's been taken over by an Xbox distributor. Hopefully the concept will be adapted to other devices.
they would have to pry it[xbox] from my cold dead hands.
Wait I am not dead yet?
Damn.
The XBOX is a great platform for this because of its simplicity. You plug in a power cable and an AV cord and that's it, you have the display on your television screen. The XBOX is small(ish) compared to most PCs and easily hooks into any input your TV requires. Plus, it's built on standard hardware.
I went to eat some animal crackers and the box said, "Do not eat if seal is broken." I opened the box and sure enough..
An Xbox running linux?
Someone call the cops! That's illegal!
...when they're done with their hand exercises, they can play some halo too.
I think they probably had a stroke in the first place from playing Ghost Recon on their Xbox. Ouch!
Perhaps it is just a weird time of day, but I couldn't help reading this angle into the article. I suppose it really could be great motivation for some patients - get them to do their exercises by gradually revealing pr0n.
Plus if they try to use xbox live they'll be banned from every game (including halo 2) and lose their gamer tag OldyLikesYoungies013.
Can I bum a sig?
That is ridiculous. Microsoft sells the Xbox at a loss hoping and expecting that people will buy the games and peripherals at ridiculous markups. That's their business model and they are welcome to try it, but in no way are they entitled to one dime of 'profit' if their business model is flawed. The only thing immoral about the situation is that our politicians allow our laws to be manipulated to make it possible for a company like Microsoft to ensure that selling their product nets them a profit. That's the risk you take in any business, and it disgusts me that our leaders can be bought off by any company to pass laws that eliminate that risk.
I'm betting you either work for MS, are an MS fanboi or you're a lawyer.
Politicians are like diapers - they should be changed frequently and for the same reasons.
Close. However, the reason for the high prices is the cost of malpractice insurance. You can't have any medical equipment fail or you get your back end sued off. That bumps the cost up partly because better parts are used, but mostly to cover the insurance.
This is the most perverse thing I've ever read. A computer built by Microsoft that uses a linux-powered glove to stroke its victims.
I'd read more about it but I don't really read articles. . . .
...with getting a free xbox!
I'm waiting for my SinoLogic 16 with Sogo7 data gloves and Thompson eye phones.
N4st0r, trixx0r h0bb1tz0rz! Th3y st0l3 0ur pr3c10uzz!
Xbox is the cause of and solution to all of life's problems.
Well.. maybe. Or Maybe not. But Definitely not sort of.
I don't think the FDA would approve of such a device. I wanted a CPAP machine to control snoring. (Nothing more than a pressure regulated air compressor which would cost ~$25 if sold over the counter at Wal-Mart!) Could I buy one? No. You must see a doctor ($1200 consultation), have a sleep study ($2500) and get a prescription to own a $1200 air compressor! There are no known side effects and is not harmfull in ANY way. Thank you FDA. I finally found one on Craigs List and now my wife sleeps much better since my snoring has stopped. Oh, and the doctor is required to remove some of the manuals before handing the patient his new CPAP machine. I found the missing manual on eBay. This is a good example of what is wrong with our "Health Care System". Since this device is FDA regulated, and the insurance company is paying for it, they lock it up and over charge everyone! What a rip off! If any other industry operated this way they would be given jail time.
I am not familiar with the Rutgers glove in the referenced article, but I think it only senses patient motion, it doesn't move the patient's hand around. Our robots guide patients to move their limbs (shoulder/elbow, wrist, hand, ankle...) while they play various simple video games, letting them move if they can, and assisting their movements if they can't, as a therapist would.
I'd say this is unethical use of the hardware, unless they buy it from MS at cost, or MS authorizes it. Part of the cost savings is in the form of a Microsoft subsidy, allowing the hardware to be purchased at a discount in hopes of recovering it later. That cost will never be recovered with this use. MS might donate to charity, but this is forcing their hand.
I hate grammar Nazi's.
It's unethical if your ethics favour corporations, but not if they favour people and good health...
JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP JUMP IRRIGATE
No, it's "worth it" if you favor people and health. Deciding someone else's priorities is unethical. If I want to donate $5,000 of your money to the rehabilitation of crash victims, no matter whether I lean toward caring about you, or caring about the victims, I'm using your money for something you didn't agree to. Microsoft pays for these machines for a specific reason, and by hacking them to another purpose, you are using this money for something that was not intended. Realize also that this is not personal use, this is use by someone who may or may not be non-profit, though it is presumably altruistic (Which is why I'm calling it charity, even though it's almost certainly not). I have no right to determine what your money is paying for. I don't care if I'm using Bob's Hitman service's money to help pay to cure cancer. It might be for a good cause, but it's not my money.
I hate grammar Nazi's.
An Xbox running Linux? Microsoft will send assassins within the week.
There are some people who will buy an Xbox in order to play a single game on it. Some will buy the hardware because they have the games but their hardware failed or was lost in a fire or something. Microsoft's decision to sell the hardware as a loss leader does not obligate the buyer of that hardware to make further purchases in order to cover MS's bottom line.
That being said, there's still the little matter of having to hack the hardware to install Linux on it. Running a version of Linux on the Xbox that makes use of the firmware of the product could be argued to be using a derivative work based on the firmware. IANAL, so hard telling if that'd hold up. Currently the courts seem to support the idea that making things compatible with firmware isn't copyright infringement. Legal precedents get lots of consideration, but new decisions don't _always_ go the same way as the precedent. There's a chip specifically that has to be hacked to allow Linux to boot on the Xbox. That code on that chip has to be functionally identical (at the chip-to-chip interface level) to the original other than the copy protection. That's a stronger argument for copyright infringement, unless the chip was black-box cloned. It's also the same replacement chip in many cases that is illegal under the DMCA for helping people play counterfeit games. There may be a chip that bypasses the OS DRM but leaves intact the valid Xbox game DRM, but I haven't seen one.
The good news is that controllers work similarly for PCs, and Linux runs on PCs. Hopefully it'll be a short road between the Xbox prototype and getting this to work with hardware that's mroe commoditized. I doubt MS would care about the research as long as this thing doesn't start getting sold as an Xbox hack. They might even be able to use it as positive press.
As a private individual, I see no problem. I've considered getting an Xbox for no reason other than hacking it. (Ok, ok, and playing Fusion Frenzy. Mario Party - parts that suck). When you get into the territory of not only hacking an Xbox, but using that to try to turn a profit, that's when it becomes wrong. You're using someone else's money to pad your bottom line. Businesses follow different rules than private individuals. One guy hacking his Xbox vs a company rolling out 100 of these is a big distinction.
I hate grammar Nazi's.