Video games as part of visual therapies
Recent research, like the one you can read here, suggest that video games can be an effective means to support the therapy and rehabilitation of certain pathologies. The success of games in this context largely depends on their potential to attract and motivate users.
En Dicopt We have designed virtual reality dichoptic games to be effective in lazy eye recovery and motivate patients to continue therapy.
Benefits of Virtual Reality
Given the immersion experienced with virtual reality, video games with this technology bring more benefits. There are numerous cases in which virtual reality has penetrated the medical sector:
- applications to treat phantom limb syndrome
- for treat ADHD
- for reduce anxiety of patients before surgery almost entirely avoiding anesthesia.
These examples show the benefits of using videogames in therapy and, especially, of virtual reality.
Designing fun games is a difficult task, especially when the way users/patients perceive the game is different from how the developers perceive it. One of the main challenges identified in this process is judging the balance between presenting the player with therapeutic exercises and exercises related to the game. This should be addressed in the design of any therapeutic game while ensuring accessibility guidelines are taken into account and players are not unnecessarily frustrated.
Through play, patients are also able to demonstrate and communicate their specific visual skills in ways that are not possible with standard therapies. This is one of the great benefits of using games as part of therapy. Specifically, for the youngest patients, fun activities are the best way to communicate with them. And if they interpret therapy as something fun, they will get more involved with it.
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