LUCY SCHULTZE

Ray Ishee of Stringer samples games of Wii tennis, baseball and boxing with the help of therapeutic recreation specialist Courtney Jones at Methodist Rehabilitation Center

A hit video-game device that's made its way into family rooms across the nation has arrived in hospitals, too.

Methodist Rehabilitation Center in Jackson is among the growing number of facilities to introduce "Wii-habilitation" to its therapeutic activities. The Nintendo Wii game system is now being used in the hospital's inpatient and outpatient facilities as a way of keeping patients motivated and engaged during their recovery.

"At first most patients are kind of wary of it — they think, 'It's a video game and I'm not too good at video games,'" said Courtney Jones, a therapeutic recreation specialist who uses the device with her patients at least three times a week as part of inpatient therapy.

What makes the Wii different from most video games is the way it engages the body with controllers that respond to body movement, rather than just the touch of thumb-to-button.

In the sports package of games, like the one being used at Methodist Rehab, players are challenged to replicate movements used in activities like tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and boxing. The players' movements are mimicked by a virtual player on the screen, allowing even wheelchair-bound patients to once again "play" their favorite games.

The system works through a wireless controller, which contains accelerometers and sensors that detect motion in three dimensions. Patients grip the controller and move it to register their tries at golf swings, bowling throws or boxing punches (the latter game is so far the most popular among Methodist Rehab patients).

For patients recovering from stroke, surgery or injury, the new tool has added a fresh dimension to the often discouraging process of relearning what once were simple tasks. The device allows them to work on strength, balance and coordination while focusing on something other than the recovery challenges they may face.

"It's nothing you couldn't do some other way, but it has the added effect of getting their mind off the pain," Jones said. "It's kind of amazing the standing time they're able to achieve while playing versus just standing there."

The game also has the added benefit of boosting engagement by allowing patients to play each other, Jones said.

"My two guys I had today were kind of competitive, trash-talking each other," she said. "They really enjoyed it."

The Wii system, which retails for $250, made its debut in 2006 and has been the must-have gift on family Christmas lists for two years now. It began making its unexpected debut into hospitals and rehabilitation centers around mid-2007, with the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, credited as the first in North America to put the Wii to this use.

Since then, rehabilitation therapists and other healthcare professionals whose families play the device at home have made the connection on their own that it could be a great tool in therapy.

For programs looking to implement the Wii system as part of therapy options, providing a safe environment is key, advises Mershon Hinkel, an occupational therapist in Philadelphia who blogs about Wii-hab.

Among concerns to consider are fall prevention, infection control and injury prevention. Hinkel's recommendations include using, when needed for support or safety, a set of parallel bars or a walker with a therapist positioned at the side. The Wii equipment must also be appropriately cleaned between patient uses to prevent the transfer of germs.

In addition to rehabilitation, she notes, other ways the Wii is being used in healthcare settings include as a stimulating activity for older adults living in retirement communities, and to benefit children with physical disabilities or delayed social-interaction skills.