How NI LabVIEW and the Nintendo Wii Worked Together for Stroke Rehabilitation

Stroke is a devastating modern-age disease that can alter lives in significant ways. While medical expertise and the willingness of patients to engage in intensive rehabilitation can lead to complete recovery, motivating patients to endure tedious physical therapy exercises remains a challenge.

In this post, we’ll explore a case study where a team of postgraduate students from the Laboratory for Biomedical Instrumentation and Technologies at the University of Belgrade School of Electrical Engineering tackled this challenge head-on, leveraging technology and the world of gaming to transform the rehabilitation experience for stroke patients.

The Challenge

The journey began with a profound challenge: how to motivate stroke patients to persevere through physically demanding rehabilitation exercises. These exercises are often repetitive, requiring patients to perform a limited set of movements repeatedly, making the process both physically and mentally taxing.

The Solution

The innovative solution devised by these young engineers involved harnessing the power of technology, specifically NI LabVIEW software and NI DAQ hardware, to introduce the exciting world of video games into the realm of stroke patient rehabilitation. Their goal was clear: to enhance motivation and boost cooperation among patients.

Why Video Games?

At first glance, it might seem unconventional to blend video games with post-stroke rehabilitation. However, there’s a great rationale behind this idea. Both video games and post-stroke arm rehabilitation involve numerous repetitions of specific movements. Video games are immensely popular worldwide, and the team believed that incorporating these games into rehabilitation could revolutionize the motivation factor and, consequently, improve the overall rehabilitation process.

System Description

The system designed by the postgraduate student team seamlessly integrated Nintendo Wii games with traditional upper extremity post-stroke rehabilitation. Their innovative approach consisted of three crucial components:

• Movement Acquisition System: The Movement Acquisition System captured the patient’s movement data. It had a 2DoF rig with 351 HE Hall effect-based encoders in each joint, which were individually recorded at 100 Hz by an NI USB-6008 data collecting device.
• Controller: A state-of-the-art controller, based on the “probability tube” (PT) algorithm, recorded movements during a learning phase. It then compared these movements to those performed by patients during the teaching phase.
• RehaAssist for Wii: The RehaAssist was a specialized electromechanical device engineered to rotate the Wiimote using electrophysiological signals. It controlled the pitch and roll of the Wiimote, enabling interaction with Wii games.

The Software Transition

Initially, the team developed the PT algorithm using MATLAB, but they later transitioned to NI LabVIEW for real-time data acquisition and actuator control. The decision was driven by the simplicity and robustness of LabVIEW, which seamlessly integrated their existing hardware and software components.

At the time of the case study, the system supported four Wii games: Wii Bowling, Wii Frisbee, Wii Table Tennis, and Wii Wakeboarding. Game variety not only prevented boredom but also provided a wider range of movements for the patients- aligning with the therapeutic goals.

Furthermore, the system’s flexibility extended to input devices. It accommodated various devices, including a drawing board (Wacom Intuos 4XL) and a common computer mouse. The adaptability of LabVIEW made the integration of these input devices a smooth process.

With three different inputs and four different games supported, the system was ready for pilot clinical trials. Initial feedback from clinicians and patients was overwhelmingly positive, showing that this fusion of technology and gaming had the potential to make stroke rehabilitation more engaging and effective.

This inspiring case study showcases the remarkable potential of technology and gaming to enhance the lives of stroke patients undergoing rehabilitation. The collaborative effort of these postgraduate students resulted in a flexible, fast, and highly reliable system, powered by NI LabVIEW with the potential to transform the field of stroke rehabilitation. Their innovative approach offers hope and motivation to stroke patients worldwide, emphasizing that sometimes a creative blend of disciplines can lead to groundbreaking solutions.

The original case study summarized in this post was co-authored by Miloš Kostić, Momčilo Prodanović, and Miloš Radulović from the University of Belgrade.