NASA uses videogames to improve health

[08.16.00] » Playing ordinary games with NASA's new controller can provide health benefits.

   While game players have feebly offered up excuses of improved hand-to-eye coordination when defending their gaming addictions, a new technology developed by the United States' NASA program purports to "improve and protect a player's mental and physical health" by having patients play mainstream, popular videogames with a special controller. "Thirty years of biofeedback research has shown that by training specific brainwave changes, or reductions in other abnormal physiological signals, people can achieve a wide variety of health-enhancing outcomes," explained Dr. Olafur Palsson, assistant professor of psychiatry and family medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Virginia.

   According to NASA, "signals from sensors attached to the player's head and body are fed through a signal-processing unit to a video game joystick or other control device. As the player's brainwaves come closer to an optimal, stress-free pattern, the video game's joystick becomes easier to control." Players are hence encouraged to adapt to a certain healthy brainwave pattern in order to make, for example, Zelda 64's Link run in a straight line.

   Researchers speculate they can fine-tune the technology for a variety of health applications, from concentration disorders to physical therapy. In fact, a study is currently underway testing the technology as a treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children ages 9 to 14. While the study has yet to be completed, results so far are extremely promising -- the treatment is not only effective, but also one that requires little effort to encourage children to participate. With multiple companies already applying for licenses, NASA believes the controllers could be widely available in just 2 to 3 years.