iPad Used to Help Stroke Patients Communicate

[Maura]

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Two research bodies in the UK, City University London and The Stroke Association, a charity that does a lot of great work for stroke patients and stroke prevention in the UK, have revealed that they are holding trials and tests using the iPad and the Nintendo Wii to help stroke patients with aphasia language problems to communicate via gestures rather than words.<o>

</o>[/FONT] [FONT=&quot]According to a report on eWeek, the project , entitled “Gesture Recognition in Aphasia Therapy†(or GReAT), will last for the next 18 months, with a prototype being tested on members taken from 30 of The Stroke Association’s Stroke Clubs in the London area. Patients involved in the study will practice making gestures, and will then be able to access instant feedback and become more proficient with their gestures via constant repetition of the moves. <o>

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“Gesture tracking and recognition technologies are becoming a ubiquitous part of new computing and gaming environments, ranging from Apple’s touch-screen iPad through the handheld Nintendo Wii Remote to Microsoft’s forthcoming Kinect for the Xbox 360,†Stephanie Wilson, senior lecturer in HCID at City University told eWeek. “Whilst popular in gaming, we will evaluate the suitability of such technologies in aphasia rehabilitation.â€

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eWeek reports that UK government agency, The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, is helping to fund the project. <o></o>
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Source: eWeek.com[/FONT]