Serious Games in Physical Rehabilitation: From Theory to Practice

Marketing text: This innovative book explores how games can be serious, even though most people generally associate them with entertainment and fun. It demonstrates how videogames can be a valuable tool in clinics and demonstrates how clinicians can use them in physical rehabilitation for various pathologies. It also describes step by step their integration in rehabilitation, from the (gaming) technology used to its application in clinics. Further, drawing on an extensive literature review, it discusses the pros and cons of videogames and how they can help overcome certain obstacles to rehabilitation. The last part of the book examines the main challenges and barriers that still need to be addressed to increase and improve the use and efficacy of this new technology for patients. The book is intended for physiotherapists and clinicians alike, providing a useful tool for all those seeking a comprehensive overview of the field of serious games and considering adding it to conventional rehabilitation treatment.

About the Author

Bruno Bonnechère is a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université Libre de Bruxelles. He is currently finishing his joint PhD for the Faculty of Medicine (Laboratory of Anatomy, Biomechanics and Organogenesis -­ ULB) and the Faculty of Engineering (Department of Electronics and Informatics) of the Vrije Universiteit Brussel. He is interested in the scientific validation of gaming hardware (e.g. Microsoft Kinect and Nintendo Balance Board) in connection with functional evaluation during rehabilitation exercises, and in the use of serious games for motor and cognitive rehabilitation. He has published more than twenty papers in peer-reviewed international journals, and has authored four books and six book chapters.