COOL TOOLS
ReJoyce
Story by Connie Bryson/Photo by Laughing Dog Photography
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish with exercise if you have fun doing it,” says Dr. Jan Kowalczewski. That was the inspiration behind ReJoyce (Rehabilitation Joystick for Computerized Exercise), Dr. Kowalczewski’s invention for hand, arm, and shoulder rehabilitation. ReJoyce is a spring-loaded arm with special handles and attachments that the user twists, squeezes, and moves around to play custom‐made video games. The patented system comes with 10 games that adapt themselves to the user’s abilities. Game controls can be customized for each patient by combining range of motion with finer dexterity tasks. “Basically, doing exercise using ReJoyce is fun,” says Dr. Kowalczewski. “Even people who tell us at first ‘I’m not into computer games’ find that playing the games beats doing repetitive exercises on their own. ReJoyce provides more entertainment value and the unique ability to coordinate hand opening and closing in meaningful ways.” Ginny Bockman, who suffered a spinal cord injury that left her in a wheelchair, was one of the first users of ReJoyce. "When I first started using the system, my hands were like little tiny fists that I couldn't use for anything. Today, I can brush my hair, lift and drink from a coffee mug, even get dressed. I have a lot more independence."
For more information on ReJoyce, go to http://www.hometelemed.com/