Virtual reality-enhanced stroke rehabilitation

David Jack, Rares Boian, Alma S. Merians, Marilyn Tremaine, Grigore C. Burdea, Sergei V. Adamovich, Michael Recce, Howard Poizner

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

595 Scopus citations

Abstract

A personal computer (PC)-based desktop virtual reality (VR) system was developed for rehabilitating hand function in stroke patients. The system uses two input devices, a CyberGlove and a Rutgers Master II-ND (RMII) force feedback glove, allowing user interaction with a virtual environment. This consists of four rehabilitation routines, each designed to exercise one specific parameter of hand movement; range, speed, fractionation or strength. The use of performance-based target levels is designed to increase patient motivation and individualize exercise difficulty to a patient's current state. Pilot clinical trials have been performed using the above system combined with noncomputer tasks, such as pegboard insertion or tracing of two-dimensional (2-D) patterns. Three chronic stroke patients used this rehabilitation protocol daily for two weeks. Objective measurements showed that each patient showed improvement on most of the hand parameters over the course of the training. Subjective evaluation by the patients was also positive. This technical report focuses on this newly developed technology for VR rehabilitation.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)308-318
Number of pages11
JournalIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
Volume9
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 2001
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Internal Medicine
  • General Neuroscience
  • Biomedical Engineering

Keywords

  • CyberGlove
  • Haptic glove
  • Rehabilitation
  • Rutgers Master II-ND
  • Stroke
  • Virtual reality (VR)

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