Abstract:The use of virtual-reality technology in the areas of rehabilitation and therapy continues to grow, with encouraging results being reported for applications that address human physical, cognitive, and psychological functioning. This article presents a SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis for the field of VR rehabilitation and therapy. The SWOT analysis is a commonly employed framework in the business world for analyzing the factors that influence a company's competitive position in… Show more
“…Virtual reality displays are known to cause simulator sickness (similar to motion sickness) after prolonged use without a break. 1,43 In future studies a larger number of more experienced and less experienced clinicians will be recruited for the virtual driving evaluations. The consensus building protocol would be implemented so that clinicians with all levels of experience can interpret and evaluate the VPMRT scale in a more uniform fashion.…”
Objective: To develop a virtual reality (VR)-based simulator that can assist clinicians in performing standardized wheelchair driving assessments. Design: A completely within-subjects repeated measures design. Methods: Participants drove their wheelchairs along a virtual driving circuit modeled after the Power Mobility Road Test (PMRT) and in a hallway with decreasing width. The virtual simulator was displayed on computer screen and VR screens and participants interacted with it using a set of instrumented rollers and a wheelchair joystick. Driving performances of participants were estimated and compared using quantitative metrics from the simulator. Qualitative ratings from two experienced clinicians were used to estimate intraand inter-rater reliability. Results: Ten regular wheelchair users (seven men, three women; mean age ± SD, 39.5 ± 15.39 years) participated. The virtual PMRT scores from the two clinicians show high inter-rater reliability (78-90%) and high intra-rater reliability (71-90%) for all test conditions. More research is required to explore user preferences and effectiveness of the two control methods (rollers and mathematical model) and the display screens. Conclusions: The virtual driving simulator seems to be a promising tool for wheelchair driving assessment that clinicians can use to supplement their real-world evaluations.
“…Virtual reality displays are known to cause simulator sickness (similar to motion sickness) after prolonged use without a break. 1,43 In future studies a larger number of more experienced and less experienced clinicians will be recruited for the virtual driving evaluations. The consensus building protocol would be implemented so that clinicians with all levels of experience can interpret and evaluate the VPMRT scale in a more uniform fashion.…”
Objective: To develop a virtual reality (VR)-based simulator that can assist clinicians in performing standardized wheelchair driving assessments. Design: A completely within-subjects repeated measures design. Methods: Participants drove their wheelchairs along a virtual driving circuit modeled after the Power Mobility Road Test (PMRT) and in a hallway with decreasing width. The virtual simulator was displayed on computer screen and VR screens and participants interacted with it using a set of instrumented rollers and a wheelchair joystick. Driving performances of participants were estimated and compared using quantitative metrics from the simulator. Qualitative ratings from two experienced clinicians were used to estimate intraand inter-rater reliability. Results: Ten regular wheelchair users (seven men, three women; mean age ± SD, 39.5 ± 15.39 years) participated. The virtual PMRT scores from the two clinicians show high inter-rater reliability (78-90%) and high intra-rater reliability (71-90%) for all test conditions. More research is required to explore user preferences and effectiveness of the two control methods (rollers and mathematical model) and the display screens. Conclusions: The virtual driving simulator seems to be a promising tool for wheelchair driving assessment that clinicians can use to supplement their real-world evaluations.
“…The potential for game-based approaches in rehabilitation practice to provide a more engaging and motivating experience and that large numbers of game-based rehabilitation scenarios could be developed to provide greater realism and to correspond more closely to a wide range of everyday activities is now being more fully recognised [8][9][10][11][12]. Furthermore, there is now a growing evidence base to support their use in a variety of different rehabilitation applications including mobility and aerobic fitness [13][14][15], post-stroke rehabilitation of hand-arm function [16][17][18], balance [14,[19][20][21], pain distraction while undergoing treatment/therapy [22], and treatment of amblyopia ("lazy eye") [23].…”
Virtualized reality games offer highly interactive and engaging user experience and therefore game-based approaches (GBVR) may have significant potential to enhance clinical rehabilitation practice as traditional therapeutic exercises are often repetitive and boring, reducing patient compliance. The aim of this study was to investigate if a rehabilitation training programme using GBVR could simultaneously improve both motor skill (MS) and confidence (CON), as they are both important determinants of daily living and physical and social functioning. The study was performed using a nondominant hand motor deficit model in nonambidextrous healthy young adults, whereby dominant and nondominant arms acted as control and intervention conditions, respectively. GBVR training was performed using a commercially available tennis-based game. CON and MS were assessed by having each subject perform a comparable real-world motor task (RWMT) before and after training. Baseline CON and MS for performing the RWMT were significantly lower for the nondominant hand and improved after GBVR training, whereas there were no changes in the dominant (control) arm. These results demonstrate that by using a GBVR approach to address a MS deficit in a real-world task, improvements in both MS and CON can be facilitated and such approaches may help increase patient compliance.
“…The purpose of this randomized pilot study was to investigate the effect of cervical 9 kinematic training (KT) with and without VR training in people with chronic neck pain. It is 10 hypothesized that both regimes would improve neck pain, disability and kinematics but VR training 11 would improve these factors more so considering its interactive nature and potential ability to 12 distract from pain and anxiety.…”
Impairments in cervical kinematics are common in patients with neck pain. A virtual reality (VR) device has potential to be effective in the management of these impairments. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of kinematic training (KT) with and without the use of an interactive VR device. In this assessorblinded, allocation-concealed pilot clinical trial, 32 participants with chronic neck pain were randomised into the KT or kinematic plus VR training (KTVR) group. Both groups completed four to six training sessions comprising of similar KT activities such as active and quick head movements and fine head movement control and stability over five weeks. Only the KTVR group used the VR device. The primary outcome measures were neck disability index (NDI), cervical range of motion (ROM), head movement velocity and accuracy. Kinematic measures were collected using the VR system that was also used for training. Secondary measures included pain intensity, TAMPA scale of kinesiophobia, static and dynamic balance, global perceived effect and participant satisfaction. The results demonstrated significant (p<0.05) improvements in NDI, ROM (rotation), velocity, and the step test in both groups post-intervention. At 3-month post-intervention, these improvements were mostly sustained; however there was no control group, which limits the interpretation of this. Between-group analysis showed a few specific differences including global perceived change that was greater in the KTVR group.This pilot study has provided directions and justification for future research exploring training using kinematic training and VR for those with neck pain in a larger cohort. The results demonstrated significant improvements in NDI, ROM, velocity, and the step test in both groups, with a few specific between-group differences including global perceived change that was greater in the VR group. This pilot study has provided directions and justification for future research exploring training using kinematic training and VR for those with neck pain.
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