title: Feasibility of adapting a classroom balance training program to a video game platform for people with Parkinson's disease.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Decreased postural stability in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) is a major component of disability. Rehabilitation interventions are therefore targeted to improve balance, mobility, and strength. Virtual environment and gaming platforms can encourage therapeutic activity in the home and be challenging and fun. The aims of the project were to demonstrate the technical feasibility of adapting a classroom-based gait-and-balance training program to a video game platform. Ease of use, appeal, and safety of the proposed games were tested for both clinic and in-home use.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional observational study was carried out in three phases. Modifications in the game platform were made in an iterative fashion based on feedback from subjects and the observations of clinical and design team members. The first two phases of testing were performed in a laboratory setting, and the final phase was carried out in subjects' homes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Subjects (n=20) scored the primary "Rail Runner" game 3.6 for ease of use (1=hard, 5=easy) and 3.9 for appeal (1=did not like at all, 5=liked very much). There were no safety issues encountered, and the games performed without technical flaws in the final phase of testing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A computer-based video game that incorporates therapeutic movements to improve gait and balance for people with PD was appealing to subjects and feasible for home use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California-San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. glenna.dowling@nursing.ucsf.edu
authors.forename: Glenna A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Dowling
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hone
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mastick
authors.forename: Marsha
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melnick
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005081:Exercise Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005684:Gait; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D051346:Mobility Limitation; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*; D062072:Patient Acuity; D004856:Postural Balance; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018910:Video Games