ABSTRACT
Benefits of immersive virtual reality rehabilitation (VRR) include increased motivation and improved transfer of skills to real-world tasks. The introduction of Oculus hand-tracking technology allowed for the development of VRR games that do not need virtual reality (VR) hand controllers. This is beneficial as participants with upper limb impairments/injuries may have difficulties with/be limited in using/manipulating VR hand controllers. In this project, a VRR game was developed and evaluated. The aim of this study was to determine patient experience when using VRR as an adjunct to upper-limb rehabilitation. N = 20 participants receiving upper limb rehabilitation completed a series of VRR tasks by playing the "smoothie bar" VRR game. After the completion of the VRR tasks, the participant experience was evaluated via a study-specific questionnaire. Key findings include 95% agreement that VRR tasks were fun and engaging and 75% agreed that VR tasks will be helpful to include in their rehabilitation. Hands-tracking VRR has a high potential to be used as an adjunct intervention in upper limb rehabilitation.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In this work, we share the enhancements made in our system to take part in the CYBATHLON 2020 Global Edition Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) Bike Race. Among the main improvements, firstly an overhaul, an overhaul of the system and user interface developed with User-centered design principles with remote access to enable telerehabilitation. Secondly, the implementation and experimental comparison between the traditional single electrode stimulation (SES) and spatially distributed sequential stimulation (SDSS) applied for FES Cycling. METHODS: We report on the main aspects of the developed system. To evaluate the user perception of the system, we applied a System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire. In comparing SDSS and SES, we collected data from one subject in four sessions, each simulating one race in the CYBATHLON format. RESULTS: User perception measured with SUS indicates a positive outcome in the developed system. The SDSS trials were superior in absolute and average values to SES regarding total distance covered and velocity. We successfully competed in the CYBATHLON 2020 Global Edition, finishing in 6th position in the FES Bike Race category. CONCLUSIONS: The CYBATHLON format induced us to put the end-user in the center of our system design principle, which was well perceived. However, further improvements are required if the intention is to progress to a commercial product. FES Cycling performance in SDSS trials was superior when compared to SES trials, indicating that this technique may enable faster and possibly longer FES cycling sessions for individuals with paraplegia. More extensive studies are required to assess these aspects.
