Zhang Melvyn W B, Ho Roger C M
Biomedical Global Institute of Healthcare Research and Technology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Psychological Medicine, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Technol Health Care. 2016 Nov 14;24(6):973-976. doi: 10.3233/THC-161249.
There have been massive advances in E-Health and M-Health technology, with recent interest in the utility of games for healthcare and the promotion of well-being and recovery as well as patient empowerment. There has been various review demonstrating the clinical effectiveness and efficacy of games for healthcare. It is the aim of this technical note to illustrate how appropriate gaming engines could be used by non-expert clinicians to program games that could run across various platforms, as well as games that could integrate well with existing mechanical sensors. This would address the limitations with regards to the evidence base of games, as well as the limitations in the deployment of games to various participants. More importantly, games designed are also more likely to be cost-effective and lower in cost. The ability of integration with existing mechanical sensors would value-add existing games and enable recovery and remediation in various domains of health. This would further expand the potential of games as an adjunctive treatment for patients, or at least, to maintain the gains that they have made in their recovery process.
