The Scotsman

Gaming with friends can help stroke recovery

- By ANGUS HOWARTH

Stroke patients recover faster if they play a computer games with a carer rather than alone, a new study found.

Having someone to play with boosted the patient’s efforts they put into physio to build up muscle strength.

The collaborat­ive Balloon Buddies game was developed by Imperial College London scientists to speed up the rehabilita­tion of physically impaired patients.

It is designed to be played with a healthy volunteer such as therapists and family members.

Both players control the height of their balloon using a Gripable device by either squeezing to inflate a balloon or releasing their grip to deflate the balloon.

Research Associate Dr Michael Mace said: “Video games are a great way of providing repetitive exercise to help patients.”

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