Students Developing Game to Help CP Kids

Students from the University of Toronto are working on a game that is designed to aid children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, which hinders movement in one side of the body.

University of Toronto senior William Li is developing this game targeted to cerebral palsy patients. It encourages players to exercise the affected side by moving in unison with images on a screen. A camera detects the player's motion.

Li has developed his design with the help of Tom Chua, a professor at the University of Toronto's Institute of Biomaterials & Biomedical Engineering, and Darcy Fehlings, the physician director of the neurodevelopmental program at Bloorview.

According to a report from the University of Toronto, Li's project is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and is working with the Pediatric Rehabilitation Intelligent Systems Multidisciplinary (PRISM) lab.

The goal aims to get players who might not otherwise utilize their weak sides often to use them, thus increasing their strength and coordination. This can help the patients use their weaker limbs more effectively.

“Physicians were hearing from an occupational therapist that it was a challenge to get children with hemiplegic CP to exercise their weaker limb,” said Li. “As a result, they actually underdevelop the potential of the weaker limbs. So that is precisely what we wanted to address with this video game system.”

Do have a child with cerebral palsy? Contact a cerebral palsy lawyer who can explain your child's legal rights.