Interactive Video Floor Improves Brain Injury Recovery
Brain injuries can cause an array of symptoms, from an individual’s ability to walk/move to their speech, from their vision to their clarity of thought, and from their ability to remember information and events to their emotion regulation.
After experiencing difficulty walking and moving following a brain injury, one of the most common rehabilitation practices involves the use of a treadmill to retrain the gait.
To improve the treatment for brain injury patients, LedGo has created an LED video floor at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.
The LED video floor has pressure sensors built in to recognize the pressure of a footstep. Using this technology, LedGo has developed interactive games to improve motivation in patients undergoing gait rehabilitation. After completing one game, the software provides a score which grades the player according to variables set by the therapist using the associated computer program.
The software scores the player based on the width between feet during stride, the length of the stride, and the speed of the stride. Different games can also test the players’ reaction time, balance, and dual-tasking abilities (performing cognitive and physical tasks at the same time). Part of the benefit of the video floor is that it encourages players to perform better and to beat their top score, thus improving.
LedGo, the creators of the video floor, hope that this tool will find its way overseas and become an international product, leading to advancements in the treatment of brain injuries.
It is imperative that therapists find approaches that are meaningful and/or in-turn motivational for their clients. As Speech-Language Pathologists we are often trying to find the meaning in a clients life that they are motivated to work towards. Setting and accomplishing a life goal, broken down into manageable steps can be very uplifting for clients in the same way that LedGo interactive games can be motivational. Since motivation comes in all shapes and sizes, each treatment plan needs to be carefully constructed and individualized.
Pieters, J. (2016, April 08). LED video floor speeds up traumatic brain injury recovery. Retrieved April 08, 2016, from http://www.nltimes.nl/2016/04/08/led-video-floor-speeds-up-traumatic-brain-injury-recovery/
