Social Mobile Gaming Aids Rehabilitation of Disabilities

Author: Imperial College London
Published: 20 Nov 2017 - Updated: 23 Jul 2026
Publication Type: Announcement

Table of Contents:
Synopsis - Definition - Overview - FAQs - Insights, Updates - Related Content

Synopsis

This research examines Balloon Buddies, a collaborative video game developed by bioengineers at Imperial College London to support arm rehabilitation for people recovering from stroke and other physical disabilities. Key facts: the peer reviewed pilot study, published in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, paired 16 patients with arm weakness alongside 32 healthy volunteers, tested over three months at Charing Cross Hospital in 2016. The game uses a wireless handgrip called GripAble, letting people with limited arm strength control a tablet by balancing a ball on a beam lifted by balloons. Who this affects: patients recovering from stroke, musculoskeletal injuries, arthritis, and cerebral palsy, along with the therapists, caregivers, and family members who train with them. Why it matters: most rehabilitation games are single player, which can isolate and discourage patients, whereas this design lets a healthy partner support a less able player so both stay engaged. Main findings show that patient performance rose when playing with a healthy volunteer compared with playing alone, and the weaker a patient's solo performance, the larger the gain during shared play, making the work useful and credible for seniors and disabled people seeking motivating home or clinic based therapy.*

At a Glance

• 1 - The game provides animation, sounds, and vibration feedback like conventional video games.
• 2 - Balloon Buddies is part of the work of the Imperial Academic Health Science Centre, a partnership between Imperial College London and three NHS Trusts.
• 3 - Collaboration made the game more challenging for the stronger partner and more rewarding for the weaker one, as both had to keep the beam horizontal together.
• 4 - Researchers plan a larger study to test whether shared play produces more efficient learning, longer training, and to compare playing with a relative versus a stranger.

Topic Definition

Balloon Buddies Collaborative Rehabilitation Game

Balloon Buddies is a collaborative video game built for physical rehabilitation, allowing a person with reduced movement, such as someone recovering from a stroke, to play alongside a healthy partner like a therapist or family member. Controlled through a wireless GripAble handgrip on a standard tablet, players balance a ball on a beam raised by on screen balloons, working together to hit targets while keeping the platform level. The design deliberately balances difficulty so the exercise stays achievable for the weaker player and engaging for the stronger one, turning repetitive therapeutic movement into shared, motivating play.

Overview

The researchers from Imperial have designed a video game called Balloon Buddies, which is a tool that enables those recovering from conditions such as a stroke to engage and play together with healthy volunteers such as therapists and family members as a form of rehabilitation.

Balloon Buddies is designed to level the playing field by allowing healthy participants to support the less abled player. The researchers have shown that this type of collaboration makes it more rewarding for the less-abled partner, more challenging for the better partner, and overall more fun for both, as they have to continuously work together to score points.

The team have trialled Balloon Buddies by getting patients to play it on their own in single player mode and then partnered with healthy volunteers during dual player gameplay. They found that the performance of the patient was boosted when they played with a healthy volunteer, compared to if they were playing the game on their own. In addition, they found that the poorer a patient's single player performance was, the greater the improvement seen when they played with another during dual-player mode.

These findings published in the Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation (JNER), suggest that by increasing engagement with healthy volunteers, compared to playing alone, patients may be more likely to increase the effort they put into training, which could ultimately lead to greater gains in physical performance.

While the pilot study was limited to 16 patients and 32 healthy participants playing in 16 pairs, the researchers believe this form of rehabilitation through gaming may be beneficial to patients recovering from other illnesses such as musculoskeletal injuries, arthritis, and cerebral palsy. The researchers are aiming to further develop the game alongside new multiplayer concepts and show that it can be used in different settings including patients training with their therapist or with other patients, in community centres or even remotely at home.

Dr Michael Mace, lead author from the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, said: "Video games are a great way of providing repetitive exercise to help patients recover from debilitating illnesses. However, most games are designed for users to play on their own, which can actually discourage and isolate many patients. We developed the Balloon Buddy game to enable patients to train with their friends, family or caregivers in a collaborative and playful manner. The technology is still being developed, but we have shown that playing jointly with another individual may lead to increased engagement and better outcomes for patients."

Balloon Buddies uses animation, sounds, and vibration-feedback, similar to conventional video games. It requires users to balance a ball on a beam, which is lifted at each of its ends by balloons controlled by the players. The main aim of the game is for the players to vary the height of the beam so that the ball collides with moving targets in order to collect points. Players are also required to work together to keep the beam horizontal so that the ball doesn't roll off the platform. It is played with a wireless handgrip called GripAble, enabling people with arm weakness to control video games on any standard tablet device.

In the study, the researchers tested the game on 16 patients who had arm weakness following a stroke with a healthy volunteer over three months at Charing Cross Hospital, which is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, in 2016. Previously, the game was also tested on 16 healthy pairs with different baseline abilities.

The team will now carry out a larger study to examine whether the game leads to more efficient learning and to examine if patients are more motivated to train for longer periods. They will also explore social implications of interaction such as the effect of patients playing with a relative versus a stranger.

The Balloon Buddies game is an example of the work of the Imperial Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC). This is a partnership between Imperial College London and three NHS Trusts, which aims to improve patient outcomes by harnessing scientific discoveries and translating them as quickly as possible into new diagnostics, devices and therapies, in the NHS and beyond.

Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: Researched FAQs by Disabled World (DW)

Who developed the Balloon Buddies game?

The game was developed by researchers in the Department of Bioengineering at Imperial College London, working within the Imperial Academic Health Science Centre and in partnership with NHS Trusts.

What is GripAble and how does it work?

GripAble is a wireless handgrip controller that lets people with arm weakness operate video games on a standard tablet, translating hand and arm movements into on screen control without needing a conventional gamepad.

How long was the Balloon Buddies study conducted?

The pilot testing with stroke patients ran over a three month period during 2016 at Charing Cross Hospital, which is part of Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

Can Balloon Buddies be played at home?

The researchers aim to develop the game for a range of settings, including patients training with a therapist, with other patients, in community centres, or remotely at home, though wider home use depends on further development.

Is Balloon Buddies available to the public yet?

At the time of the study the technology was still in development and was described as an early stage research tool, so it was not presented as a finished consumer product.

What conditions besides stroke might benefit from this approach?

The researchers suggest that collaborative rehabilitation gaming may help people recovering from musculoskeletal injuries, arthritis, and cerebral palsy, in addition to stroke related arm weakness.

Why is playing with another person better than playing alone?

Shared play appears to raise engagement and effort, and the study found patient performance improved when a healthy volunteer joined in, which may encourage patients to train more and gain more physically.

Insights, Analysis, and Developments

Editorial Note: The strength of this work lies in its shift away from solitary therapy toward a design where ability differences become part of the play rather than a barrier to it. Key facts point to a GripAble handgrip that runs on any standard tablet, keeping the approach low cost and adaptable for clinics, community centres, and remote home use. This affects rehabilitation teams looking for tools that hold patient attention through repetitive exercise, a known hurdle in recovery. It matters because engagement often decides how much effort a patient invests, and effort tends to track with physical gains. The lead author, Dr Michael Mace of the Department of Bioengineering, frames the technology as still developing, so readers should view the results as an early but measured signal rather than a finished treatment, which is part of why the reporting reads as honest and worth following.*

Attribution/Source(s): This quality-reviewed publication was selected for publishing by the editors of Disabled World (DW) due to its relevance to the disability community. Originally authored by Imperial College London and published on 20 Nov 2017, this content may have been edited for style, clarity, or brevity.

* Editorial additions by Ian C. Langtree.