http://www.jneuroengrehab.com/content/11/1/12/abstract
Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation 2014, 11:12
doi:10.1186/1743-0003-11-12
Published: 8 February 2014
Published: 8 February 2014
Abstract (provisional)
The Nintendo Wii Fit was released just over five years ago as a means of improving
basic fitness and overall well-being. Despite this broad mission, the Wii Fit has
generated specific interest in the domain of neurorehabilitation as a biobehavioral
measurement and training device for balance ability. Growing interest in Wii Fit technology
is likely due to the ubiquitous nature of poor balance and catastrophic falls, which
are commonly seen in older adults and various disability conditions. The present review
provides the first comprehensive summary of Wii Fit balance research, giving specific
insight into the system's use for the assessment and training of balance. Overall,
at the time of the fifth anniversary, work in the field showed that custom applications
using the Wii Balance Board as a proxy for a force platform have great promise as
a low cost and portable way to assess balance. On the other hand, use of Wii Fit software-based
balance metrics has been far less effective in determining balance status. As an intervention
tool, positive balance outcomes have typically been obtained using Wii Fit balance
games, advocating their use for neurorehabilitative training. Despite this, limited
sample sizes and few randomized control designs indicate that research regarding use
of the Wii Fit system for balance intervention remains subject to improvement. Future
work aimed at conducting studies with larger scale randomized control designs and
a greater mechanistic focus is recommended to further advance the efficacy of this
impactful neurorehabilitation tool.
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