In a white room at HealthSouth Chattanooga, the Dynavision D2 looks out of place, like a prop from the set of “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
The McCallie Avenue rehabilitation hospital’s newest therapy training tool is a study in early science-fiction aesthetic: a black square, four feet by four feet, studded with 64 white switches radiating out like spokes around a computer screen.
It is also one of the facility’s most versatile pieces of equipment to gauge a patient’s visual-motor skills, said occupational therapist Ashley Wright.
The D2 has a number of adjustable programs that require patients to randomly press glowing switches.
The D2 may appear to be a more advanced version of the arcade game Whac-A-Mole, but by tracking reaction speed and accuracy within specific quadrants, therapists can use it to evaluate a range of conditions.