Abstract

Stroke is a leading cause of severe physical disability,causing a range of impairments. Frequently stroke survivors areleft with partial paralysis on one side of the body and movementcan be severely restricted in the affected side’s hand and arm.We know that effective rehabilitation must be early, intensiveand repetitive, which leads to the challenge of how to maintainmotivation for people undergoing therapy. This paper discusseswhy games may be an effective way of addressing the problem ofengagement in therapy and analyses which game design patternsmay be important for rehabilitation. We present a number ofserious games that our group has developed for upper limbrehabilitation. Results of an evaluation of the games arepresented which indicate that they may be appropriate for people with stroke.