Introduction: Virtual reality gaming systems, such as Nintendo Wii, are
increasingly used in rehabilitation to deliver the intensity and repetition
of practice necessary to enhance recovery. This abstract reports serviceuser (SU) involvement in the ReWiiRe project (www.rewiire.org.uk);
which investigated feasibility and acceptability of rehabilitation using
Wii and the development of a personalised stroke treatment (PST), using
adapted Wii technology, for arm re-education post-stroke. SUs worked
collaboratively with therapists and engineers to develop data-collection
tools (aphasia-friendly questionnaire, interview schedules); advised on
design and testing of equipment prototypes and design and content of
bespoke exercises and games, ensuring that PST was relevant and meaningful. A SU participated in a two week case-study testing PST.
Method: Mixed methods: questionnaire, semi-structured interviews and
single case-study.

Results: 33 questionnaires and 10 interviews were completed. 87.9%
(29/33) questionnaire respondents felt Wii helped with rehabilitation.
57.6% (19/33) reported difficulty using equipment. 33.3% (5/15) of
SUs reported difficulties using the hand-held remote controls. Therapists believed use of standard Wii was limited due to the high level of
dexterity, movement and coordination necessary to operate the system.
A case-study using PST demonstrated a high level of user-acceptability
and positive changes on outcome measures.

Conclusion: Use of standard Wii in arm rehabilitation post-stroke is
limited. Issues identified from this study, together with input from SUs
have been used to iteratively inform the design and development of
PST using adapted Wii technology for arm rehabilitation. Proof of concept was confirmed through a case-study. Further study using the PST
is planned.