Using formal evaluation results and clinical judgment, clinicians familiar with this game can use Treasure of Bell Island with anyone they feel is appropriate. Both current literature and treatment guidelines for mTBI/post-concussive syndrome influenced game design and dynamic difficulty of the game’s levels. Treasure of Bell Island has been designed for the following individuals:
1. Those with mild traumatic brain injury and/or post-concussive syndrome who do not experience full symptom resolution within three months post injury.
2. Those with mild traumatic brain injury who have been cleared to return to sports/school/work and wish to challenge their attention, memory, and executive function.
According to the US Department of Defense 2007 (VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Concussion/mild-Traumatic Brain Injury):
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a “traumatically induced structural injury and/or physiological disruption of brain function as a result of an external force that is indicated by new onset or worsening of at least one of the following clinical signs, immediately following the event: any period of loss of or a decreased level of consciousness; any loss of memory for events immediately before or after the injury; any alteration in mental state at the time of injury (confusion, disorientation, slowed thinking, etc.); neurological deficits (weakness, loss of balance, change in vision, praxis, paresis/plesia sensory loss aphasia, etc) that may or may not be transient; intracranial lesion .” According to the US Department of Defense (2007) the term concussion and mTBI can be used interchangeably.
Classification of TBI Severity as described in the VA/DoD Clinical Practice Guideline for Management of Concussion/mild-Traumatic Brain Injury includes: