Video Games have a decidedly negative stigma attached to them when it comes to fitness and health.  However, with the advent of the WiiFit for the Nintendo Wii in 2008, the tide seems to have turned a bit.  Game developers and gaming peripheral manufacturers are pursuing new and innovative ways to make gaming a more active pastime.  One such innovation actually isn’t much of an innovation at all.  At the 2009 gaming convention E3 in Los Angeles, Nintendo unveiled the ‘Vitality Sensor.’ Nintendo’s Vitality Sensor looks very much like a finger pulse oximeter you would commonly see in any hospital…because it is.

The Vitality Sensor will monitor and track your heart rate and blood oxygenation levels as any pulse oximeter would, then use it within a game platform.  The flagship game appears to be WiiRelax, which uses soothing techniques to lower your heart rate and help you relax by monitoring your reactions via the finger-clip Vitality Sensor.

Well-known software developer, Ubisoft, followed up at the 2010 E3 with ‘Innergy’ for the PC genre.  It allows you to plug the device (a pulse oximeter) into any computer and perform breathing exercises to lower your heart rate and relax.  It’s touted to reduce stress, lower blood pressure, boost your immune system, and help you sleep better through stat monitoring and relaxation techniques a few times a week.

While this is not breakthrough technology (pulse oximetry has been around since the early 1940s), the application is decidedly innovative.  Perhaps one day we’ll be able to virtually visit the doctor using our Nintendo Wii, laptop, or smart phone.  For busy, fast paced lives, taking a few hours to get a checkup is often not a priority with other pressing matters to consider.  Being able to better track your health, especially though a widely available and affordable technology, seems like a great way to make the world healthier.  One can only envision better things to come.