The Wii Fit Gaming Console As a Medical Device

The idea gamification of health has been a buzz word, but now there appears to be data that shows that video games can actually help improve health.

May 20, 2013

1 Min Read
The Wii Fit Gaming Console As a Medical Device

People having been talking about the gamification of health for several years but now there appears to be data that shows that video games can actually help improve health.

The infographic below shows how video games, including the Wii gaming console made by Japanese video game maker Nintendo, are being used to improve people's medical conditions from Parkinson's, to lazy eye to range-of-motion limitations. You could argue that the Wii Fit gaming device has become a medical device of sorts. A study of 22 adults aged 33-64 years using the company's Wii Fit with Balance Board gaming system revealed that it was a low-cost mechanism to improve physical therapy offered in the ICU.

Another study of 100 children playing video games showed that after one year, 30% showed significant improvement in their lazy eye condition while 60% showed moderate improvement.

Here's the infographic designed by Big Fish Games:

-- By Arundhati Parmar, Senior Editor, MD+DI

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