Will your doctor ever try anything newer than medical school?
I don't know I still like stomping roaches to get some aggression out.
A Johns Hopkins Scientist is Using Virtual Dolphins to Rehab Stroke Patients [Video]
"If you have a stroke in the United States in 2014, you're better off if you're a rodent than if you're a human being," Johns Hopkins University neuroscientist John Krakauer said when delivering his presentation "Motor Recovery After Stroke in Mice and Men" at a brain science research seminar. The rehabilitation therapies we use nowadays are medieval, he continued on to say, making it loud and clear that now, "it's time for a revolution."
The 47-year-old, whose medical career is nothing to be scoffed at, is ready to accept the challenge of redefining the world of physical therapy, too, with the creation of a new kind of healer equipped with a set of fins.
Krakauer, who studies movement and human obsession with movement, worked with Johns Hopkins software architects Omar Ahmad and Promit Roy as well as Baltimore artist Kat McNally to develop the video game "I Am Dolphin," which he believes could have applications in therapy, especially for stroke victims.
An accomplished neuroscientist, Krakauer first joined Johns Hopkins in 2010 to set up a center for stroke recovery research, including the BLAM lab (an acronym which stands for brain, learning, animation and movement), which explains why he would want to create a more effective post-stroke rehabilitation solution. His advanced knowledge of the disease that afflicts nearly 800,000 people across the United States each year and understanding of the economic burden associated with stroke victims (just about $37 billion in care a year) makes him the man best fit for the job.
That paired with his appreciation for "the beauty and braininess" of movement is what led Krakauer to create a simulated dolphin named Bandit for healing purposes.
Bandit is based on three real bottlenose dolphins housed in the National Aquarium that were studied for hundreds of hours and then transformed into digital form. According to National Geographic, the simple movement of a stroke patient's arm in a robotic sling will alter the movement of the virtual dolphin on the screen, allowing Bandit to swim, catch fish and then swallow its dinner just like a real dolphin in the wild.
The player feels as if they're one with the dolphin, Omar Ahmad, director of the Kata Project behind "I Am Dolphin," explained to National Geographic. "It's visceral feedback; every subtle movement you do is reflected in the dolphin," he said. Fair warning: it's addictive, too.
As for how an aquatic video game could help with brain healing, Krakauer says an injured brain from a stroke can reconfigure itself, but only during a sensitive post-stroke period window that lasts one to three months. (He may be smart but he's totally wrong here) So in the clinical trials with Bandit, the game will be used during that critical time of plasticity when the brain is actually capable of self-repair. And if successful in helping stroke patients recover lost motor function faster than traditional therapy used today, Krakauer's dream of revolutionizing conventional physical therapy practices could very well become a reality.
This isn't the first time video games has been used in rehab. In fact, another member of the Johns Hopkins community, Ph.D. student Xiaoxu Kang, launched her own startup Rehabtics in October 2012 that uses virtual technology to make the physical therapy experience more fun.
Rehabtics' new software program called ArmSPOT leverages gaming technology to better engage patients and make them more interested in their rehab exercises. Motion cameras transform patients into avatars onto their computer screens, allowing them to do their physical therapy routines in a relaxing atmosphere, like on the beaches of St. Lucia or in a jungle safari.
So perhaps there is promise for "I Am Dolphin." Try it out for yourself by purchasing the game released through iTunes October 9 for $2.99.
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