‘Duck Duck Punch’ is a video game for stroke patients

We don’t often think of video games as medical products, but a team of post-graduate students is looking to change that. The Clemson University School of Computing has created Duck Duck Punch: a Kinect game that helps stroke patients recover upper-body mobility and coordination. It’s currently awaiting FDA approval, but is already being used in South Carolina hospitals and in patients’ homes.

Two Clemson students, Austen Hayes and Patrick Dukes, worked on the Duck Duck Punch project in coordination with School of Computing Director Larry Hodges. Following the game’s success, Hayes and Hodges co-founded Recovr, Inc.: a company dedicated to creating games for “virtual rehabilitation.” Duck Duck Punch is Recovr, Inc.’s only game so far, and the company received an investment through SCRA’s University Start-Up Assistance Program in October.

Duck Duck Punch has received a lot of local press in South Carolina, but national attention has been sparse. Still, the market for therapeutic games is untapped, and Recovr, Inc.’s success will hopefully spark more developers to fill medical needs.