Game Cycle
The GameCycle. So Much More than Just Upper Body Exercise. Get the excitement of playing Nintendo GameCube racing games while getting a great upper body workout!
*Speed is controlled by turning the arm cranks, and steering is controlled by tilting the cranks left and right.
*Adjustable resistance, hand grips, and height settings lets you customize your workout!
Neuro Rehab Benefits
Because GameCycle users match upper extremity movement to visual feedback from the videogame and because both arms must work in unison to control the game, there are a variety of neuromuscular reeducation and neuro rehab benefits including:
Addressing Strength Asymmetries
Bilateral Integration
Visual-Motor Integration
Coordination and Balance 
Therapeutic Exercise Benefits
When exercise becomes as addictive as gaming, the benefits are comprehensive:
Better Endurance/Cardiovascular Fitness
Strength Training
Improved Range of Motion
Increased Core Stability
These benefits result in improved functioning in activities of daily living, increased self-esteem, and improved rehabilitation outcomes. And, your patients are having fun at the same time.
Improved Compliance
Having some fun during rehab and while you exercise means you will exercise more. The gaming challenge of the GameCycle encourages exercise and facilitates adherence to rehabilitation and exercise regimens in the clinic or at home. To read more about this, click here for an article about the GameCycle in Advance Magazine.
End-User Populations
The GameCycle is used by children, adults, and seniors. In the clinic, the GameCycle is used by people who have experienced stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, spina bifida, cerebral palsy, and other neurological disorders or diseases of the spine. To learn more about the GameCycle in other settings such as schools, YMCAs, fitness centers, and retirement communities, click here.
 Why the GameCycle?
The development of the GameCycle was funded by two grants from the National Institutes of Health. Why? Because there is a clear demand for an environment in which everyone -- people of all abilities -- are able and motivated to exercise. The GameCycle meets that demand by putting the fun back in fitness.
The GameCycle merges upper body exercise with the excitement and enjoyment of video games. The gaming challenge encourages exercise and will facilitate adherence to rehabilitation and exercise regimens in the clinic or Exergame club.
GameCycle Warranty:
Manufactured to medical commercial use standards
Frame: 5 year warranty.
Parts: 1 year
GameCycle System Price Includes everything needed to fully operate your GameCycle.
GameCycle machine
17" Flatscreen TV
Nintendo GameCube console with controller
Built in stand to mount TV and GameCube console
Nintendo GameCube video game (3 games)
Standard Horizontal Grips In addition to providing patients with a fun and entertaining exercise outlet, the GameCycle is also used in clinical settings to promote a variety of skills and desired outcomes including:
Endurance
Strength Training
Range of Motion
Flexibility
Balance
Core Stability
Coordination
Propioception
While playing the GameCycle promotes alll these skills, emphasis on one skill or another can be easily shifted by:
Taking advantage of the GameCycle's adjustable features. For instance, increased resistance levels are consistent with an emphasis on strength training. Or choosing a more challenging course in the videogame is consistent with an emphasis on improved coordination.
Changing the environment in which the GameCycle is being played. For instance, therapists interested in emphasizing balance and core stability have their patients play the GameCycle while sitting on a therapy ball.
Importantly, clinical use of the GameCycle for these purposes is reimbursed under existing CPT codes:
Descriptor CPT Code
Therapeutic Procedures: 97110
Neuromuscular Re-education: 97112
There a variety of videos (most are two minutes or less), so please scroll down and select those that are most relevant to your client population. A two-minute general overview and a 30-minute In-Service can be found toward the bottom. | The videos will play automatically using Flash Player -- if you are unable to view the videos, please get the latest version of Flash Player -- it is a very quick and easy download. Just click on the video that you want to view and enjoy! | 
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| Who: Jim Davis, OT Clinic: National Neuro Primary Population: Neurological |
| Who: Jodi Paniagua, PT Clinic: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Primary Population: Spinal Cord Injury |
| Who: Alex -- GameCycle User Clinic: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Primary Population: Spinal Cord Injury |
| Who: Sampling of GameCycle Users Clinic: St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center Primary Population: Spinal Cord Injury |
| What: GameCycle Brief Overview Video Clip Two minute excerpt clip from GameCycle In-Service |
| What: GameCycle In-Service Video GameCycle In-Service (30 minutes) for Rehab Clinics Note: When viewing this video, it will be helpful to have a printout of the Power Point slides. Click here for a PDF file of the slides. |
| What: Channel 12 News - Phoenix, AZ NBC Affiliate Clinic: Banner Good Samaritan Hospital Primary Population: Major Rehab Center, General population |
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| The GameCycle® – Answers to Frequently Asked Questions |
How does the GameCycle work?
The GameCycle simulates hand cycling, but with a twist: When you crank and steer the arm cranks, they serve as a controller for off-the-shelf Nintendo GameCube racing games. When you crank the handles forward, the speed of your cranking controls the speed of the game object (e.g., the speed of a car). To steer the object, you tilt the handles from side to side. If you slow your cranking, you slow the object. If you crank in reverse, the object moves in reverse. It's that simple. Are the Nintendo GameCube and TV fully integrated into the GameCycle?
Yes, the Nintendo GameCube and TV are fully integrated into the GameCycle. The GameCycle is a "turn-key" system which incorporates the GameCube and TV and requires no additional components. The GameCycle interacts directly with the GameCube games by simulating a GameCube controller. Do you need to have experience with videogames to play the GameCycle? Absolutely not. In fact, many people, especially seniors, who have never played videogames before enjoy the GameCycle. Because you are not using a standard videogame controller, you need no familiarity or experience at all with videogames or their controllers. Instead, your challenge, and part of the fun, is learning how your own cranking and steering controls the game. Because the GameCycle eliminates the need for complicated game controllers, it actually makes videogames easier to play – all you do is crank and steer. For seniors this is especially important: the GameCycle removes a common barrier to videogames -- the complex and often intimidating set of buttons on a videogame controller. Is the GameCycle adjustable to meet the needs of a variety of users?
GameCycle adjustable features include: 1) Adjustable height of the cranks, 2) 10 resistance settings to provide a wide range of cranking difficulty, 3) A variety of handgrips for varying hand function, 4) Games can be played by cranking forward or backward, 5) Steering sensitivity can be adjusted and the crank speeds required to achieve maximum object speed in the game can be adjusted. Thus, even people whose ability only allows them to crank slow can still play the games. Can you have reciprocal cranking (e.g., off-set the cranks) on the GameCycle?
No. Off-set cranks (one crank handle is high while the other is low), interfere with the steering required to play the videogames. As with hand cycles, the GameCycle cranks turn together with the cranks symmetrical to one another. How much floor space does the GameCycle use?
The GameCycle is 29" wide, 50" high, and 50" long (max.). Wheels on the front enable rolling portability. Are there research studies on the benefits of using the GameCycle?
Yes, there is. GameCycle research has been presented at scientific conferences and has been published in scientific journals. The results of these research efforts have provided compelling evidence of the important benefits gained from the using the GameCycle, including improved cardiovascular fitness and better compliance with exercise programs or rehab regimens. What are the cognitive and motor benefits of using the GameCycle?
Benefits include visual-motor integration as the participant matches upper extremity movement to visual feedback from the videogame. Also, stroke-related asymmetries in arm function are addressed because both arms must work in unison to control the game – so the stronger side "brings along" the weaker side. How is cranking resistance applied and adjusted?
Cranking resistance relies on a magnetic particle brake, with a selection of 10 resistance levels (Torque Range: 0-70 lb-in). Can videogames be played by cranking backward as well as forward?
Yes, the user can switch the direction of cranking (backward or forward) that makes the video game object move forward. What type of videogames are most compatible with the GameCycle and where can these games be purchased?
GameCycle compatible GameCube games can be purchased off the shelf at any store that carries videogames (e.g., Best Buy, Circuit City). The GameCycle is compatible with racing style games such as Need for Speed Underground, Racing Evolution, Mario Kart Double Dash, and many more. The GameCycle only works with the Nintendo GameCube. Who is using the GameCycle?
Because the GameCycle is attractive to people of all abilities, it creates a truly "universal access" exercise environment. The GameCycle is used by children, adults, and seniors. In the clinic, the GameCycle is used by people who have experienced stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, spina bifida, and other neurological disorders or diseases of the spine. The GameCycle in Fitness Centers, YMCAs, and Community Centers
For fitness centers, YMCAs, and Community Centers, the GameCycle offers the kind of innovative exercise outlet that brings people through the door. Upper body exercise outlets are often under-represented in exercise facilities -- in part because standard arm ergometers are considered boring. The GameCycle shatters that boring image by offering upper-body exercise merged with videogames.
While appealing to a general audience, the GameCycle also makes your facility attractive to a growing population of people (especially as baby boomers age) with mobility disabilities who are unable to exercise with their legs. For people who cannot exercise with their legs, the GameCycle represents a tailor-made innovation: Upper-body exercise merged with gameplay.
The GameCycle in Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Centers
Seniors, just like the general population, seek out exercise that is entertaining and motivating. We have seen this first hand: The reception of the GameCycle among seniors has been outstanding. Part of the reason for the enthusiastic response is that the GameCycle is simple and makes video games easy to play – all you do is crank and steer. The GameCycle takes away a barrier that often exists for older people -- the complex and often intimidating game controllers for common videogames.
While the GameCycle is fun, it also offers serious benefits for seniors. For example, for those who have experienced stroke, the GameCycle provides important cognitive and motor benefits during rehabilitation. Importantly, the GameCycle allows the crank speed necessary to play the video games to be adjusted so that even when cranking slow, the game can still be played. Finally, because resistance levels can be adjusted, and because each game has a variety of "challenge" levels, there is maximum flexibility as one's motor abilities improve.
The GameCycle. Making Exercise as Addictive as Gaming | Game Cycle
˚Uses standard Nintendo GameCube games
˚Game Cycle cranking simulates arm exercise and controls speed and direction of Nintendo Games
˚Resistance system uses electronic brake
˚ Resistance control is computer and push button adjustable
˚ Forward or backward game control is selectable for different exercise modality
˚Adjustable GameCycle height to accommodate users at all angles.
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