A fall, a stroke, a car accident. It could happen to anyone at any time, a fact Bill Hallett knows well.
A fall in mid-2014 left Bill Hallett with a brain injury, and as part of his recovery he's required to to attend a couple of rehabilitation sessions a week.
His sessions consist of a series of stretches and exercises designed to improve his brain function, and increasingly technology is being used as part of the rehabilitation process.
Dr Leanne Hassett is a researcher manager for a trial looking at how technology can be used to improve the rehabilitation process.
Dr Hassett said people don't get enough time to practice in rehabilitation clinics, and new ways are needed to supplement existing treatments.
"We know that (patients) have a lot of down time. So we need to look at ways that people can have more opportunities for practice, and the use of technology is one such thing," she said.
"People start in the inpatient phase of their rehabilitation and they generally come down and spend an hour on the technology five days a week."
The technology used in the study includes Wii, iPads, iPhones and games. Participants in the study spend an hour a day, five days a week, using the different technology.
Dr Hassett said the technology was tailored for specific problems such as those experienced by Bill Hallett.
"For example if they're having problems trying to stand up or walk, we're using the technology to address that. Some technologies might suit different groups better but I guess we will learn that through the trial."
Bill Hallett entered the study at the Brain Injury Unit at Liverpool Hospital in June 2014 after his fall.
"I left the hospital and they put me into a house, a rehabilitation house, which has been terrific so far. And the games are there. And good luck playing the games boys because you won't beat the king. I play every day, an hour probably every day."
One of the people guiding Mr Hallett in his daily sessions is research physiotherapist Siobhan Wong.
She said while many patients required the assistance of a physiotherapist, other patients - once they improved - could use technology unsupervised.
"A lot of the time the physiotherapy intervention needs to be one-on-one. Depending on someone's physical ability or their level of cognition, they might need more supervision, as in having someone close by so they don't fall," she said.
"Then as they progress and improve you might need to lessen that support that you're providing and provide less supervision as they improve. So often initially it is a one-to-one session that you're providing to patients."
Siobhan Wong said it was only in the past 12 to 18 months that technology was increasingly being used in rehabilitation units.
Patients, she said were generally optimistic about its use.
"They really enjoy it. They enjoy using the technology and find the feedback really helpful. A lot of the participants use the scores that they get with each game to try and improve their practice and facilitate their practice."
The George Institute for Global health said approximately 150,000 Australians go through rehab every year and many of those patients could benefit from new technology.
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