Applying Gaming Principles to Virtual Environments for Upper Extremity Therapy Games

Home-based care modalities may yield many advantages in therapy and rehabilitation. Virtual systems for rehabilitation are an emerging technology that may be used to enhance the effectiveness of home-based care while simultaneously increasing the number of patients that physical therapists can provide care for. In this paper, we discuss a system that utilizes game design principles to develop a therapy game for upper extremity rehabilitation. We provide an overview of the system and show evidence based on assessments from adults and children using our virtual environment. Results indicate that the system we have developed can engage and encourage the target demographic by adhering to principles common in successful entertainment games.