The Meridia Day Centre becomes the first in Mexico to use VirtualRehab, the physical rehabilitation system which combines videogames and the Microsoft® Kinect® motion tracking device.
Dabvsa Group and Virtualware have unveiled the first Virtual Rehabilitation service in Mexico aimed at public and private clinics, hospitals and health centres interested in offering their rehabilitation services to patients in their own homes.
The new service consists of a comprehensive TeleRehabilitation system based on the use of the VirtualRehab® videogame platform combined with the Gerocare© Method and the Vive+ Home Care service currently offered by DABSVA.
VirtualRehab® is the industry leader in videogame-based Rehabilitation solutions and is used by patients with neurodegenerative, physical and cognitive diseases to exercise both upper and lower limb functions. The system is supervised by healthcare professionals, gerontologists and a multidisciplinary team that specialize in improving the quality of life of both the patients and their families.
Using the Microsoft® Kinect® motion tracking system means the patient isn’t required to hold any controller of any type, making the solution simpler and more intuitive to use for patients of all ages and levels of disabilities, including those in wheelchairs. The physiotherapy exercise games have been designed to resemble normal videogames in virtual 3D settings.
Therapists and patients who have already begun to use VirtualRehab in the Meridia Day Centre in Mexico City have been extremely impressed with the excellent results they have seen. Patients, as well as their family members, have seen notable improvements in their balance, coordination and mobility functions in just a short time. The idea of being able to continue the therapy sessions in their own homes under the supervision of a therapist, and therefore avoid having to travel to a clinic to do so, is an attractive idea to many.
The son of Ramon, a patient who suffered a stroke, said he was amazed by the improvements he saw in his father after using VirtualRehab, noting “he now walks straighter and no longer bumps into things”.
One of the Centre’s monitors noted that Esperanza, a patient suffering from Alzheimer’s, has been using VirtualRehab as part of her rehabilitation programme and can now participate more actively in her Yoga classes, has more stamina and follows instructions correctly when before using VirtualRehab this wasn’t the case. Her daughter has also noticed a remarkable improvement in her mother’s independence to perform simple day-to-day activities.
Various hospitals around Mexico are currently in discussions with DABVSA to begin offering VirualRehab to their patients by the end of the year.
GEROCARE® METHOD
The Gerocare® method offers an integral support solution for the elderly, designed to improve the quality of life of patients and their families, with the end goal of maximizing their autonomy. The Meridia® Day Centre for the elderly is the only one of its kind that currently offers this method in Mexico.
VIRTUALREHAB® | www.virtualrehab.info
VirtualRehab® is an innovative cloud-based physical rehabilitation system which incorporates videogame technology ****and allows the monitoring of the progress of patients from anywhere in the world. Patients can perform complex rehabilitation programs using entertaining therapies either in a Rehabilitation clinic as well as in their own homes.
Each session is registered using Microsoft® Azure, a cloud-based platform that allows patients to complete therapy sessions under the supervision of their specialist, whether at a medical centre or at home.
VirtualRehab® has been designed to compensate both physical and functional deficits of patients in order to improve the quality of life of those suffering from neurovascular, neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases as well as helping improve mobility in the elderly.
Approximately 1000 patients in several centres around Europe are already using VirtualRehab® as an effective treatment method, making it the world leader in videogame physical therapy solutions.
About VIRTUALWARE® | www.virtualwaregroup.com
Virtualware Group is a business group of technology companies specialized in immersive and interactive technologies. The company develops personalized Software and Hardware solutions for a variety of sectors and has released proprietary products for the Health and Training through its offices in the UK, Spain and Mexico and its network of worldwide partners.
About DABVSA® | www.grupodabvsa.com
Founded in 2004 in Mexico, DABVSA specializes in the development and operation of residential communities with human development comprehensive services aimed at the 50+ age group.
About Centro de día MERIDIA® | www.meridia.mx
Meridia is the leading day centre for elderly people, offering comprehensive rehabilitation in different areas including: cognitive, emotional, social and physical, where they combine traditional techniques with Virtual technology solutions to improve accessibility and affordability.