Gamified Rehabilitation for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome: A Novel Approach

One of the most prevalent neuropathies affecting the upper limbs in the periphery is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS). The therapy management for CTS includes mainly rehabilitation and conservative surgery. The existing methods fail to address the issue completely. This paper describes the development of a therapeutic game that utilizes interactive Gameplay to target and improve hand function in individuals with CTS. Here, a pressure sensor is embedded within a rubber bulb, which serves as the input device for the Game. The pressure sensor interfaced with the microcontroller detects the pressure exerted by the user from their hand movement and the pressure values are fed to the Game software via a serial port. The Game software is designed using the PyGame tool which utilizes this data from the serial port to run the game. This exercise might be used to improve hand dexterity, strength, and coordination through gameplay mechanics which can lead to faster recovery.