The BENEFIT Canoe

The BENEFIT study seeks to determine the efficacy and safety of a drug for the treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The focus of the study is determine whether the drug is particularly effective at the early start of therapy. A game that is based on a river metaphor was developed for use at trade fairs. The user is presented with a paddle boat that he must navigate down the river while avoiding shoals. The paddle boat takes in water and symbolizes the disease, whereas the shallows stand for relapses of the MS disease. Only those who are able to control the ship well with the joystick and regularly bale the "water" out of the boat (metaphor for treating MS) are able to navigate the life currents successfully.