Playing to (self-)rehabilitate: a month-long randomized control trial with brain lesion patients and a tablet game

We designed and evaluated a whack-a-mole (WAM) style game (see Figure 1) in a clinical randomized controlled trial (RCT) with reminder-assisted but self-initiated use over the period of a month with 43 participants from a post-lesion pool. While game play did not moderate rehabilitative progress indices of standard neuropsychological control tests, it did significantly improve in-game performance when compared to the control group, and its performance indicators were highly accurate in predicting neglect. Patients found playing beneficial to their rehabilitation and attributed gains in the attention training properties of the game. The game showed potential for bedside assessment, insight support, and motivation by providing knowledge about rehabilitative progress.