Aug 19, 2009
MS Game Released
Anne Handley
Technology Collaborative Launches Online Game to Exercise Brain Power Of People with Multiple Sclerosis
University of Louisville Professor and National MS Society, Kentucky-Southeast Indiana Chapter Board Member led innovative, interactive, internet application
The MS Technology Collaborative has created a new way for people living with multiple sclerosis (MS) to exercise their brain power. The Collaborative, an alliance of Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals, Microsoft, and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, launched MyBrainGames, a free suite of online cognitive games for the MS community.
Approximately 50 percent of people living with MS develop cognitive challenges, often in the areas of processing speed, working memory and complex attention. These challenges can involve difficulty in learning and remembering information; focusing, maintaining and shifting attention; and organizing, planning and problem-solving.
MyBrainGames, available for free at www.MyMSMyWay.com, are the first online games designed specifically for people with MS under the direction of a team of leading healthcare professionals specializing in MS and cognition, as well as members of the MS community.
The new resource provides a series of fun and interactive cognitive games for the MS community. “Many times our patients are doing well physically but they may still struggle with cognitive ability,” said Dr. Stephen Kirzinger, director of the Multiple Sclerosis Program at the University of Louisville and one of the healthcare professionals who oversaw development of the game. “This game presents the first step in assessing whether games can help counter the cognitive challenges of MS.”
The games challenge the player’s processing speed, working memory, attention, and task switching ability. Each game is available at varying levels of difficulty and players can even create customized levels to best suit their individual abilities. All scores can be saved, allowing users to track their performance over time.
Because people with MS experience a range of physical limitations in addition to cognitive challenges, MyBrainGames was also developed with technical modifications to ensure that the games are accessible to the MS community. The game’s “Accessibility Toolbar” offers the option for color inversion, changes in contrast, and bold and enlarged game text. To account for individuals with limited dexterity, minimal mouse and keyboard movement is required, with most of the game played using only two keyboard keys.
Since the MyBrainGames went live in July 2009, the website has received over 2,000 new registrants on www.MyMSMyWay.com, a 25 percent increase. Now more there are than 10,500 members on the website.
“We’re very proud of Dr. Kirzinger’s accomplishments and excited about how MyBrainGames, through the local and global reach of the internet,not only helps people living with MS in Kentuckiana, but also around the world,” said Stacy Funk, President of the National MS Society, Kentucky-Southeast Indiana Chapter.
MyBrainGames is the latest deliverable of the Collaborative’s nearly three-year partnership, which began with their 2007 survey, “Staying Connected: An Investigative Survey of How Technology Affects People Living with MS.” Results from this survey indicated that people living with MS were not only highly reliant upon computers and the internet, but also frequent gamers, with 36% of respondents reporting the use of online games.
In response to the survey results, the Collaborative launched www.MyMSMyWay.com, an online portal that features information and resources on technology, including the Snapshot tool, an interactive quiz that provides customized technology solutions based on each individual’s particular needs and challenges. The site is now also home to the Collaborative’s latest addition, MyBrainGames.
“We have seen through our work over the past few years the tremendous impact that technology can have on a person’s journey with MS,” said Dr. Nicholas LaRocca, Vice President of health care delivery and policy research at the National MS Society. “With the launch of MyBrainGames, we’re pleased to be able to present a unique piece of technology that we hope will have a similar impact.”
The Collaborative is currently working with leading healthcare professionals and game developers to secure a research grant to evaluate the impact of MyBrainGames on cognitive function.
To access MyBrainGames and the multitude of resources offered by the Collaborative, please visit www.MyMSMyWay.com.
About Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis, an unpredictable, often disabling disease of the central nervous system, interrupts the flow of information within the brain, and between the brain and body. Every hour in the United States, someone is newly diagnosed with MS. Symptoms range from reduced or lost mobility to numbness and tingling to blindness and paralysis. The progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS in any one person cannot yet be predicted, but advances in research and treatment are moving us closer to a world free of MS. Most people with MS are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 50, with at least two to three times more women than men being diagnosed with the disease. MS affects more than 400,000 people in the U.S., and 2.1 million worldwide.