New Stroke Recovery Study Launched in Tasmania with Jintronix

Jintronix has teamed up with the University of Tasmania and the Launceston General Hospital in Australia to conduct a new study on the effect of interactive games in stroke rehabilitation.

Jintronix has partnered with the University of Tasmania and the Launceston General Hospital in Launceston, Tasmania to study the effectiveness of virtual games in stroke rehabilitation. As part of the new study, University of Tasmania researchers have set up five game consoles in the hospital's physiotherapy area, and 70 patients will use the Jintronix Rehabilitation System software and Kinect as part of their rehabilitation program.

Jintronix is a virtual rehabilitation platform that uses common, clinically designed exercises and combines them with virtual games with engaging environments to deliver rehabilitation programs that are just as effective as traditional ones, but significantly more appealing to patients. The platform was developed mainly for patients with neurological conditions, including those developed after a traumatic brain injury or stroke. The patients participating in the study will use the consoles, equipped with motion sensors, to guide them through a series of therapeutic exercises available with the Jintronix platform.

Jintronix technology was developed to make repetitive rehabilitation programs more engaging and turn them into games that patients would enjoy playing. Once released from hospital, 65 percent of patients either don't do the prescribed exercises or are only partially adherent because they get fatigued easily and the exercises themselves are tedious. Solutions like the Jintronix software help improve patient compliance and, ultimately, therapy outcomes.

Jintronix uses points, badges and social media to keep patients engaged and motivated throughout their rehabilitation program. At the same time, it measures and documents patients' performance, making it easy for therapists to make adjustments to the exercise regime and remotely supervise patients who are doing the exercises at home. Jintronix can tell therapists how often and how correctly the patients are performing the prescribed exercises.

The new study is funded by Australia's National Stroke Foundation and supported by Tasmania's Department of Health and Human Services. Researchers will install two more consoles in the Tasmanian Health Organisation – North (THO – North) public rehabilitation centre in Launceston.

The study was launched by Tasmanian Health Minister Michael Ferguson in early December.