**7.1 Healthcare**

In this particular area there has been great interest in research how computer haptics technology can assist in rehabilitation process of people who has had some damage to their motor skills, while playing a game. The combination of the properties inherent to computer haptics (force and tactile feedback) with the appealing and motivating factor offered by Virtual Environments have provided a framework for the development of various rehabilitation systems that often involve the patient, and the therapists.

Haptic Hand writing sessions and Ten Pin Bowling are two examples of haptic assisted game applications developed by Xu and others at the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology in China. Their Ten Pin Bowling is intended for training of the motor function of post-stroke patients, based on Virtual Reality. They also demonstrate that haptic based hand writing is an efficient way to improve motor skills, postural stability, control and hand to eye coordination (Xu et al, 2010).

Jack and others worked on serious games rehabilitation using a haptic glove. In their work, the interaction with a virtual environment is enabled by using a CyberGlove and a Rutgers Master II-ND (RMII) force feedback glove. The Virtual Environment was designed to promote the training rehabilitation of a specific parameter of hand movement: range, speed, fractionation or strength. Their system would adapt to the level of rehabilitation achieved by the patient (Jack et al. 2001).

Similarly Huber and collaborators developed a home based tele-rehabilitation system for children with Hemiplegia. They made modifications to a play station game console to support the use of a haptic glove and their custom made virtual environment game. The game consisted in making specific hand movements to scare away butterflies that would appear on the virtual environment (Huber et al. 2008).

Broeren et al. Studied the effects of virtual reality and haptics in stroke rehabilitation by using a VR station loaded with a library of games and a hand held haptic stylus device. User interacted with the virtual objects of the games, while the workstation collected data about the 3D hand movements of the patients. They found that the enhanced rehabilitation experience was highly motivational to the patients (Broeren et al. 2008).
