Flight Sims for TBI patients

[Faustnik]

TBI (traumatic brain injury) is a big problem throughout the world. Causes range from sports, military, and random accidents.

 

In the last few years, computer games have helped improve recovery for TBI patients. As a 5 year TBI survivor, I have found that flight simulators are fantastic tools helping to improve eye/hand motor skills, memory, and general quality of life.

 

In my opinion, the best tool for improve eye/hand motor skills is the computer mouse. Fortunate TBI and stroke patients have some ability to move fingers. Using this ability, one can fly as the rear gunner in a flight sim . Rear gunners trains their eyes,situational awareness and gunnery. Being a gunner has enabled me to do a job that supports the whole group.

 

The flight stick is another great mechanism for retraining hand and arm moverment. Flying SIMS using a flight stick trains small motor skills.

 

 

One of the best computer tools for many injuries is the Track IR (infrared) technology. Many flyiers, injured or not, use hardware such as ???

Edited January 9, 2013 by Faustnik

[ACG_Suardi]

Great post Faustnik!!! Amazing!!!

[Faustnik]

Great post Faustnik!!! Amazing!!!

 

Thanks resuardi!

 

I will use this post at some TBI forums.

[Freycinet]

I believe trackir was originally developed for handicapped people and only later taken up by gamers, whereby the price went down for all. Technology rocks, and one of the very best examples is when it helps handicapped people.

[CUJO_1970]

Hey Faustnik!

 

Years ago I flew online with you as 7/JG77 =CUJO=, and you were one of the best.

 

Glad to see you are doing well.

[Faustnik]

Hey Faustnik!

 

Years ago I flew online with you as 7/JG77 =CUJO=, and you were one of the best.

 

Glad to see you are doing well.

 

Great to see you CUJO! We had a great group going.

[Faustnik]

ive thought about it for some time and i think a dog fighting game fits pretty well to make a sound game so blind people can play

 

basically there would be just one axe to control and you would play similar to taking stall sound as reference

 

i would include a stall sound to show the best turning rate and a beat that indicates whos winning

 

there could be a server in which you set some eye candy as a galaxies background, so both who see and cant see can play together, as you turn and turn in circles in space guided by the force manifested in sound 

 

A flight sim would be dificult for to blind but, I love to see any help for disabled people!

 

There was a member of a great fishing club many years ago. A blind member did very well. Someone would set him up to cast in a range and I would fish with no problem.

[Caudron431]

Very interesting post indeed! Never thought that a sim could be that useful to TBI patients.

 

I believe trackir was originally developed for handicapped people and only later taken up by gamers, whereby the price went down for all. Technology rocks, and one of the very best examples is when it helps handicapped people.

 

True, technology rocks when helping people to recover, cannot agree more. But to me the really interesting thing is to see TBI patients coming for a challenge like playing a complex flight sim/video game: wow, that rocks .

 

Hi Faustnik, keep on rocking

[EAF_Stuntman]

Thanks for sharing this Faustnik. Your post was very touching and I admire your fascinating look at how flight sim games can help TBI patients. You words contains breakthroughs of the future; modern psychology must understand the great benefits of the virtual world and not only look at it as yet another problem, but actually as a useful tool!

[Trident_109]

I believe trackir was originally developed for handicapped people and only later taken up by gamers, whereby the price went down for all. Technology rocks, and one of the very best examples is when it helps handicapped people.

 

 

That's why I have no problem paying the entrance fee for Track IR. If in some way Natural Point continues to improve their products for the use of handicapped individuals, then I feel it's worth it.

 

 

 

EDIT:

 

My nephew was concussed almost 2 years ago. He's not the boy I knew and everything takes much more effort than before. Headaches all the time. Eye co-ordination is compromised so reading is a difficult task even without the massive headache. Lights, sounds.... all weigh on his ability to function in the world around him. Many of his friends have moved on because the concuss is so bad and he can't participate in activities like he used to.

 

He sees numerous physicians and specialists to help with symptoms and the battle is slow. He's making strides but he works hard for them.

 

And he likes flight sims.    

Edited August 2, 2013 by Robert

[Hunziker]

Inspirational post

[Scarecrow]

Glad to hear that you're still finding ways to down enemy fighters. I've learned alot from reading through your posts in Ubizoo and the 1C sanitorium over the last 10 years and maybe more, very glad you're still posting, you're an IL2 legend.

 

Jim

[tempered]

 In your opinion, what would be the ideal control setup to help TBI sufferers get started in flight sim therapy?  If you could devise any type of control, what would it be?

[dkoor]

Hey man, long time no see.

I always put ya in the core of (IL-2) community, I'm looking forward to see ya over Stalingrad .

 

BTW I hope you are doing all right .

 

All the best wishes.

[Faustnik]

Thanks for all the support!

 

______________

 

Personal, my problem is reading, speech and dizzyness. I have very little temporal lobe left, so, other parts of my brain are trying with speech.  TrackIR is great for a lot of people, but, it just makes me really sick.

 

Original IL-2 is great for using your thumb for switching right, left, up and down.  I hope Battle of Staligrad will be the same.

[EvilFD]

Hey Faustnik, carry on brother. I was diagnosed with TBI the second i left the military and applied for benefits under the VA. I did multiple tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, suffered a handful of concussions one of which was pretty serious, along with other injuries. Don't really want to get into it, and long story short, it's been a struggle.

 

I've said as much to other TBI folks I know, gaming has helped me. Plastic modeling has also helped me immensely. While I enjoyed both before the injuries, they were just a hobby and way to pass the time. Now I get so much more out of both of them. The modeling especially has been really helpful in helping me regain fine control with regards to hand & eye coordination, etc. I suggest anyone suffering from a closed head injury to look into it.

[-NW-ChiefRedCloud]

Thank you for your post. I've often thought that video games/sims held a key to keeping a mind active. Especially for senior citizens who can not be as active as they use to be. Now it is not a substitute for staying active, physically, but it is great for keeping the mind active. Or so I feel. Thank you for your article.

 

I too saw my time in the Military (20 years) and to be honest when I first started playing Combat ground sims I would freeze up and even duck at the most inopportune times. In other words my mind translated my game settings to reality and this is how I responded. It took awhile and some bit of patience from several of my friends to get past this. Perhaps this is why I'm not so much hard core as I am enjoying the experience and the people (most of the time anyway).

 

Chief

Edited September 15, 2014 by -NW-ChiefRedCloud

[Faustnik]

IL-2 Sturmovik Stalingrad has the best system of flight sim for vision without TrackIR. 

 

A common problem in TBI is head pain and balance issues. 

 

In IL-2 setting, there are many setting it the camera adjustments.  Using the pan options, smoothness, movement and inertia adjustment allows you to makes vision comfortable.

 

IL-2 Stalingrad campaign lets you to choose short or long missions.  The campaign system allows you to make different types of planes and areas of the map.  If you succeed a mission, unlocking a skin or modification really ads enjoyment!    

[Crump]

Great to see you up and around Faustnik!

[robertmanziel]

Playing simulation games like flight simulators really is beneficial not just for TBI patients, but also for the general population. For children it helps develop hand and eye coordination, situational awareness and decision making.   

[dburne]

Great post and thread!

 

I am also a survivor of brain injury as well, having suffered a large stroke which destroyed part of my brain and rendered me disabled, ending a long and great career I had a few years earlier than anticipated.

 

After several weeks of therapy, I got back into my flight simming in a very big way. It is a little more difficult ( one result was half blind), but I have managed to make do with it and am now logging way more hours each week flying combat flight sims than I ever thought about before. Oftentimes going 2-3 hours each day.

 

The interaction, and exercising  my brain has helped me throughout the process immensely. Way better than just sitting around staring at the TV feeling sorry for myself.

[TWC_Ace]

Faustnik, I remember you from old il2 days. Glad you are ok now. I had a long pause from simming because I got struck with vestibular neuritis which caused dizzines, migraines, imbalance, nausea and so on. I even sold my pc and flight gear thinking I would never fly again. Thankfully after almost a year of recovery Im mostly ok now so my plan is to comeback into sims as casual simmer..for start.

Thank you for this post, it should act as encouragement for some of us.

see you in skies

S!

Edited January 30, 2018 by blackram

[Faustnik]

Thank you all for the posts!  Very impressive improvements!

 

Constant head pain makes mustiplayer flying is too tough now.  The scripted and the new campaign are great!  Limited time to 30 minutes works ok. 

 

IL-2 777 has an amazing system for adjustable thumb control head movement.  

 

 

 

 

[ShamrockOneFive]

Faustnik, I remember you from the old IL-2 days as well. I had no idea you had dealt with a TBI. I know they aren't exactly the same thing but I gave myself a concussion about a year and a half ago that caused all sorts of issues for me for many months so I can only sympathize on something like that.... really hits you "where you live" I kept thinking to myself.

 

Where I work we have researchers working on these sorts of injuries and finding out just how useful various virtual environments can be to helping regain real life actions too. Glad to hear that something like IL-2 helps out!

[toddwestley]

Faustnik,

 

I have operated FlightGear for two decades. During those years I used a USB-1208LS data acquisition device to translate my bike trainer tire rotations into a virtual joystick with only a throttle axis to control the virtual plane in FlightGear.

 

I endured a TBI on October 27, 2014. I no longer had access to the hardware I used for operating FlightGear so I found a new way. Now, I use a blue tooth low energy speed sensor that I mount to my rear wheel of my trainer mounted bicycle. I operate flightgear with a keyboard and pedal controlled throttle at least five days a week. Here is a link: ”https://github.com/toddwestley/bike_track_emulation” to a github sight with the software.

 

Be forewarned, I am not a fast learner nor am I a commercial level programmer. I do feel confident that someone comfortable that someone comfortable with the C programming language could get the program to work for you. If you so get the software to work, please post your success.

 

I spend my time operating FlightGear on a bicycle trainer because it is fun. The benefits make it easier to justify my zeal.

 

Todd Westley