San Diego-based Reflexion Health, which offers physical therapy programs that leverage Microsoft Kinect for Windows, has raised $7.5 million from the West Health Investment Fund. The Fund was also the sole investor in Reflexion's $4.25 million seed round in 2012. The Reflexion system is currently undergoing pilot studies at Partners HealthCare's Center for Connected Health in Boston and San Diego's Rady Children's Hospital.

Reflexion Health’s product, called Vera, includes an "interactive and entertaining" patient interface that aims to increase patient's adherence to their physical therapy exercises. Vera is based on research conducted at the West Health Institute, which Reflexion spun out of in 2012.

Vera offers patients instructional video and full-body video game mechanics instead of the current standard of care -- photocopied handouts describing exercises. By using Microsoft Kinect for Windows, Vera coaches patients through their exercises and sends performance data and other information back to clinicians.

The company said it will use the new funds to build out its engineering, product development, and customer support teams. It also plans to pursue more research into mobile versions of Vera and future versions that might leverage Microsoft's next generation Kinect camera, which is now on sale along with Xbox One.

Nicholas Valeriani, manager of the West Health Investment Fund and chief executive of West Health told MobiHealthNews that Reflexion's technology that will bring about both a more clinically effective and cost effective means for post surgical rehabilitation.

"A sheet of paper with a series of exercises on it is archaic, and it's not an efficient way to deliver this care," Valeriani said. "Reflexion enables the patient to really do their post surgical rehab in the comfort of their own home with the assurance that they are doing the exercises correctly. It validates that they are actually doing these exercises -- doing them them the right way -- and it actually enables that information to be transmitted to their care provider."