Computer games aren't usually thought of by health practitioners for their health benefits, but thanks to developments recently completed by the Flinders University and the UniSA, they may become a prominent part of rehabilitation programs.

For David Hobbs, associate lecturer, PhD candidate and rehabilitation engineer at Flinders University, the development of games software and two specialised controllers designed by the UniSA's Master of Design graduate course hold great promise.

One girl who participated in a two week trial of the initial computer games provided an amazing response.

"She said it was the best two weeks she's ever had in her own life because she can now play games that her cousins can play as well," David said.

A spherical and a tablet design were the produced for children with physical restrictions to play the games.

The 15 games were designed to encourage movement of the controllers, and not focus on the usage of buttons.

David said using games to stimulate physical therapy for a child with cerebral palsy was first thought of by him and his supervisors as part of his PhD.

Games were developed to attempt to keep the interest of a young user and produce physical interaction.

David then partnered with UniSA Master of Design students Max Hughes and Thomas Whitby to design controllers.

Four controllers were designed, with two prototypes produced.

For designer Max Hughes, his spherical controller creation was based on the track ball computer mouse design that was popular in the 90s.

The ball, similar in size to a junior basketball, contains a standard joystick inside the dome.

"It's very easy to use in the 3D realm," Max said.

"Being able to design something to be able to help kids with cerebral palsy is just a great, great project."

For Thomas Whitby, the design process differed, with a resulting low-profile platform that sports two moulded grips for hand placement.

"The thought was that you would see these two mice-like objects, that have actually been shaped more like rock climbing walls for grip, and you would understand how you moved that," Thomas explained.

"The entire top plate moves; so the two handles moved together and the button is placed in between for easy access."

During 2013 the partners will duplicate the prototypes and place the controllers into the homes of children with cerebral palsy for trialling.

ITEK from the University of South Australia and Flinders Partners from Flinders University are collaborating to jointly develop and mass produce the controllers for commercial release.