People are not only enjoying the games on their Nintendo Wii Console at home. Now it has also gained more popularity than the PS3 in retirement homes and clinics. There is a cool video clip on USA Today, which features the use of the Nintendo Wii in the Occupational Therapy Section of the Walter Reed Army Medical Center as part of their treatment programs.
Retirement communities, where residents are typically 60 and older, are using the system to energize their social scene. Hospitals have begun making the Wii part of rehabilitation regimens. And the Army is trying out the Wii for therapy at its Landstuhl, Germany, medical center and Walter Reed Hospital.
Physical rehab clinics have used computer and video games for many years, says Laurel Cargill Radley of the American Occupational Therapy Association, but the Wii “uses much more complex and much broader use of movement. … It’s like a simulation machine.”
Even in the UK, the Wii also seems to be popular in physiotherapy treatment programs. In fact, a number of physiotherapists are using the Wii in services ranging from burns units to paediatrics and stroke rehab, according to the iCSP forum.
For those not in the know, here is a short description about Wii from Wikipedia.
The Wii (pronounced as the English pronoun we, IPA: /wi?/) is the fifth home video game console released by Nintendo. The console is the direct successor to the Nintendo GameCube. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3.[5] It competes with both as part of the seventh generation of video game systems.
A distinguishing feature of the console is its wireless controller, the Wii Remote, which can be used as a handheld pointing device and detect movement in three dimensions. Another is WiiConnect24, which enables it to receive messages and updates over the Internet while in standby mode.[6]
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It’s interesting! I’ve never thought about Wii from this side!
August 15, 2008 at 10:25 pm