Preliminary Development of Two Serious Games for Rehabilitation of Spinal Cord Injured Patients

The upper limb function is affected in more than 50% of spinal cord. The upper limb motor recovery can be promoted by providing high intensity, repetitive and task-orientated training by means of using virtual reality applications and motion capture technologies. The objective of the present study is to present the preliminary development of two serious games for rehabilitation purpose of patients who have suffered tetraplegia. The technology used for registering hands movements is the Leap Motion Controller. The results on 8 people (4 healthy and 4 tetraplegic patients) have shown that the performance of patients is minor than healthy people, reaching a less number of goals. As conclusion these versions of both serious games are feasible in the rehabilitation of gross manual dexterity and the pinching motor skills of the fingers in tetraplegic patients.