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Physical Rehab Device Built From Wii Balance Boards

Posted by samzenpus on from the walk-and-play dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Some students at Rice University were recently asked by Shriner's Hospital to build a rehabilitation tool that makes learning to walk entertaining and engaging. Teaching children with spina bifida, or cerebral palsy can be challenging but the game/balance board walkway helps the children develop their motor skills while giving them incentive to keep at it. It's a really cool application of game technology that actually helps people."

7 of 30 comments (clear)

  1. Looks like it took 4 years to start a company... by nomel · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Finally, as predicted by an insightful DeathKoil 4 years ago.

    I've been waiting FOUR YEARS to post this damn message.

  2. Mother Nature called, She claims Prior Art. by gadget+junkie · · Score: 2

    I love the job they've done. I have two kids, and I feel for those kids. What I find distressing is that society always seems amazed when you use game formats as a teaching aid. Nature built us that way; pups, not only our own, get rewarded for imitating gestures and abilities they'll need later in life, and they enjoy it too. Personally I am amazed that games aren't used more often, even in adult training. I can say that here in Italy is almost unheard of.

    --
    "If a boss demands loyalty, give him integrity. But if he demands integrity, give him loyalty." (John Boyd, 1927-1997)
  3. Awesome! by EmagGeek · · Score: 2

    Now I can design a "medical device" using a $100 Wii and sell it to insurance companies for $12,000.

    Cha-CHING!

    1. Re:Awesome! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Interesting

      By the time you finish with all the certifications, verifications, classifications, insurance, qualification, etc. then you will have to charge $12,000 and be lucky to sell enough to break even.

      And that's if you don't get sued if one malfunctions.

    2. Re:Awesome! by Torodung · · Score: 2

      Which will leave you with less profit due to legal encumbrances. The only people saying "Cha-CHING!" are lawyers.

  4. Bookmark this story by Torodung · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Bookmark this story, folks. Any time you hear someone talking about "innovation," this is what actual innovation looks like. Both Nintendo, for inventing new forms of input devs, and the enterprising people that found a use for that input device that was not indicated by its makers.

    Innovation is simple. Turning off one's preconceptions to get to that point is hard. Turning off the usual legal battles that generally inhibit it, even harder.

  5. Re:Looks like it took 4 years to start a company.. by Kamiza+Ikioi · · Score: 2

    Doesn't bode well for Slashdot moderation's insight though... he only got a Score: 2, lol. So much for the foresight of crowd sourcing.

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    I8-D