Decision Support and Innovative Informatics Tools

Introduction

Technological development is greatly transforming the healthcare sector. One of these innovative practices involves the use of Nintendo Wii technology, a tool that has been seen to be useful in the rehabilitation of both young and old patients. Particularly, the Nintendo Wii video game system emerged to be a huge hit in rehab therapy in the 1980s, with most of its devices such as the Power Glove being launched in 1989 (Portela et al., 2014). Ideally, the Nintendo Wii video game virtually involves playing sports such as boxing, baseball, tennis, bowling, and golf for patients in rehab.

The benefits of the Wii video game are innumerable for mental health patients. The tool improves functional mobility, visual-perception processing, and postural control. Furthermore, the use of the tool in physiotherapy promotes coordination between brain and muscles, thereby, it improves strength and flexibility in addition to endurance during therapy (Bacon, Farnworth & Boyd, 2012). Essentially, the Nintendo Wii tool can enable patients to remember their past life experiences and this can effectively be used to provide a distraction, especially for patients with chronic or terminal medical conditions (Anderson, Annett & Bischof, 2010). However, while Nintendo Wii tool is a revolutionary technology for physical and mental health therapies, its implementation comes with a mixed reaction. Specifically, safety precautions are important considerations when using the tool as it can result into an addiction, which can exacerbate physical strain injuries.

Various review articles vouch for the use of Virtual Reality (VR) intervention in motor rehabilitation. For instance, the study by Tsekleves et al. (2014) affirm that the use of Nintendo Wii tool as one of the VRs is a holistic approach of care as it can be customized and configured to suit the conditions of patients during rehabilitation. Further, the authors report that Wii technology used in clinical specialties such as pediatrics, burns, orthopedics, amputees, and rehabilitation of older adults provided evidence for improved quality of care. Nonetheless, evidence suggests that Nintendo Wii tool is relatively inexpensive and is neither associated with medical treatment nor disability (Fernández Valls, Penichet & Lozano, 2014). Moreover, Paraskevopoulos and Tsekleves (2013) postulate that the tool is safe, enjoyable, and can readily be incorporated into clinical interventions for the benefit of both patients and therapists.