Hemiplegia (or hemiphlegia) means one side of a patient's body is paralyzed or weaker than the other side. The trouble with trying to treat kids with hemiplegic palsy is they don't want to exercise their weaker limbs, and the result is that the weaker side becomes even more underdeveloped. In comes the solution: video games that force the patient to use both hands.

University of Toronto who made a video game therapy for kids with hemiplegia">William Li, a fourth-year engineering student at the University of Toronto, under the supervision of Professors Tom Chau and Darcy Fehlings, basically borrowed aspects of existing video games and created a set of fun, interactive challenges for children.

The kids have to activate the game by holding down a button using their "strong" limb while their "weak" limb interacts with a motion-sensing web camera to manipulate and solve challenges on the screen. (At least that's how the game was described; we have no idea what game William Li is playing in the picture we got from the University of Toronto site, although his professors certainly look like they like what they see.)

The kids don't know they're getting physical therapy. They just think they're playing a video game. An added bonus: this setup can easily be done at home, so kids can get their treatment in the comfort of their living rooms. How about a button-mashing fighting game on the Xbox 360 or PS3? Or a game that requires Nunchuck and Wii remote?

Patch Adams would be glad. In related news, what do you think about supporting Child's Play, the Seattle-based organization that gives games, books, and toys to sick kids?

By the way, the University of Toronto has six Nobel-Prize-winning graduates (more than any other Canadian University). And even though the U of T professors are only 7% of the population of professors in Canada, they get almost 25% of all Canadian national awards go to U of T professors. It's Canada's largest and most distinguished university.