Hospital using Wii Fit to help amputees

A hospital in Leeds is using Nintendo’s Wii games console to help patients who have had legs amputated get used to using prosthetic limbs.

Seacroft Hospital is using the Wii Fit balance board, which reads real-life movements and mimics them on screen, to help patients with rehabilitation and physical therapy.

According to Lynn Hirst, a senior physiotherapist at the hospital, many patients had trouble balancing their weight using a prosthetic limb.

She said the balance board helps as it lets patients see "where they are taking their weight".

Prior to the Wii, patients had to depend on therapists to advise them of their progress. However, they can now use the board to see their fitness levels and adjust their balance.

"To back that up there's some very lively games which make them take their weight right or left, forward or back, and that improves their core stability and their balance," Ms Hirst said.

These include Wii Fit skiing, which helps patients learn balance and control when using a prosthetic limb.