Nintendo Wii remote for computer simulated arm and wrist therapy in stroke survivors with upper extremity hemipariesis

The Nintendo Wii remote is a compact, readily accessible position, orientation, and motion sensing technology with blue tooth wireless communication. We have integrated the 3D position sensor to our existing gesture therapy system of computer simulated therapy exercises. We have also used pitch, yaw, and roll, from the Wii remote 3D accelerometer to navigate a fly-through of an arbitrary Direct-X generated terrain. The hardware-based orientation and motion sensing capabilities of the Wii remote complement vision-based systems and interface well with wrist exercises. It is conceivable to reduce the size of the technology such that each finger could have one or more accelerometers mounted with wireless communication. The Wii remote model is promising for integration into clinical and home-based rehabilitation exercise therapy systems.