Games for Health

Partners: Apex, The Central Association of Permanent Defense Personnel, Confederation of Danish Industry, The Danish Research Unit of Psychological Trauma, Siemens Healthcare, Falck Healthcare, IT University, Knowledge Lab, Region H – Mental Health Services of the Capital Region of Denmark, Photobia, Serious Games Interactive,,

Target group: Selected test groups of soldiers exposed to battle actions, with and without PTSD
Platform: Web browsers
Type: Research, Solution
Technology platform: Unity3D
Status: Research Concluded, Seeking further funding

Games for Health was initiated in a cooperation under Danish Industries between Apex and Photobia. Apex have together with the Danish Industry and ITU been the leading figures throughout the project from the first small steps of finding partnerships and funding.

The “Games for Health” is a two-year research and development project, which is designed to investigate if and how digital gaming can contribute to creating new and improved therapies for veterans diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

By taking advantage of the possibilities in the world of digital games it is possible to use games as a means to contribute to the traditional treatment of PTSD. The games can be tailored to mimic the experiences that caused the soldier to develop PTSD. Studies show that giving the veteran the opportunity to “relive” his experiences in a controlled and safe environment can have a positive effect in the treatment of the veteran suffering from PTSD.

Apex have been the primary technology provider designing the interactive environments and gameplay code – as well as being the company responsible for making the game respond to bio-feedback data from the testperson. Furthermore Apex are responsible for future funding and deployment of the project.