The Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital is the first in North America to use the Wii technology to treat patients with movement and balance issues. Patients like Liaw, 34, have progressed from their wheelchairs, unable to bend at the waist or pick up things from the floor, to stand and play in front of a TV screen, swinging a virtual golf stick, scoring a virtual bowling strike or knocking out an opponent in a boxing match.
Dr. Grigore Burdea, a world leader in computer-based virtual reality techniques in rehabilitation therapies, said in five years, he believes every hospital and rehab clinic will have embraced the gaming technology for their patients.
