Xbox used for stroke rehab

The PlayStation 3 isn't the only game system that researchers are hoping to use to help the sick. Engineers at Rutgers university have modified an Xbox to work with Essential Reality P5 gaming glove and custom software to help stroke patients in their rehabilitation. Patients use the glove to control a virtual hand and practice motions such as wiping a picture clean and flexing fingers to scare away a butterfly.

Similar, custom-made virtual rehab systems are already available, but the Rutgers engineers said the hacked Xbox setup costs less than $600 to set up and "may one day rival systems 10 times as expensive." Nice to see that Microsoft's subsidized hardware is good for something other than encouraging game sales and that mod chips are good for something other than piracy.

[Via Boing Boing]

Reader Comments (13)

this is pretty cool. I don't really know what else to say about it other than it's good to see game systems being used for good stuff like this.

Guess what..I own an xbox. I hate consoles, I like my xbox media center. I like the games. I pirate movies and music, but never pc games. So...guess what? #@$%$ you. The xbox is still great

Thrall, there is nothing malicious or threatening in this article. Where's all this hostility coming from? Are you just posting a response for the sake of pointless exposure and attention?

I think what the engineers at Rutgers University are doing in an effort to help those have suffered strokes is pretty ingenious and noble.

Joystiq has recently had nothing but how the original xbox is dieing. And adding this to the article above "Nice to see that Microsoft's subsidized hardware is good for something other than encouraging game sales and that mod chips are good for something other than piracy." is not exactly nice.

The original xbox happens to be much more moddable than the 360. And not all of us can afford a 360.

Anyway I apologize for my hostility.

wow sounds like microsoft should jump on these guys...

modded xbox1 for homebrew special code = copyright violation no matter the use

So, basically, XBOX now has its own POWER GLOVE!

;)

It's quite possible that Rutgers University engineers received approval from Microsoft. I'm not sure how policies work at a University, but it might be acceptable to take equipment and use them in the non-conventional manners for study and scientific purposes without violating any infringements.

when folding@home announced you could donate your PS3 processing power to their project and help find information to fight cancer, parkinson's and several other diseases people on joysitq were more than willing to attack sony for that decision.

even though it was folding@home who announced it and not sony everyone called it a PR stunt from sony and made ridiculous statements that basically they'd rather play games than cure cancer and it was crap like this that made the PS3 so expensive.

i wonder how long it will take some of those idiots to show up here... or will microsoft and the xbox get nothing but praise?

Wow, just what we need... ultraviolent cripples.

ZOMG! THEY STOLE THE POWERGLOVE FROM NINTENDO!! THIS IS WHY I LOVE NINTENDO, THEY ACTUALLY INNOVATE!

hehe just poking a little fun at the nintendo fanboys!

Back to the article, I would hope that the gaming companies take note to these type of developments, and start embracing homebrew a little more. Xbox 360 has started to embrace homebrew with the XNA developers kit. A step in the right direction if you ask me.

If MS were behind this, I think Rutgers would be using dev kits or debug kits. No way they would be burning real retail discs -- way too expensive and wouldn't allow for fast updating of code.

Which means the box is chipped, which means that, in the US at least, it is probably in violation of the MDCA. A little surprising that a major university would take that risk, or for that matter bother using an Xbox when a cheap PC with a much more flexible I/O possibilities wouldn't cost much more.

@Aex

If you REALLY knew your nintendo fanboyisms, you would know that no true nintendo fanboy would ever make a statement like that. The statement you will more likely see if this:

NINTENDO DID NOT MAKE THE POWERGLOVE! IT WAS A MATTEL PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The nintendo fanboys always distance themselves from any mention of the abortion that was the power glove.
As true as it may be that it was not a nintendo product at all, its still fun to raise......."The Spectre of the Glove".
:)

Rofl, my bad ^^

/sigh I'll have to study up on my nintendo fanboyisms.

Mario > All
Nintendo games aren't for kids!
The PSP is dead!

hmmm, I need more practice.

Xbox used for stroke rehab

Reader Comments (13)

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