Virtual Reality Environment with Haptic Feedback Thimble for Post Spinal Cord Injury Upper-Limb Rehabilitation

Applied Sciences

Ana de los Reyes Guzmán¹  Ángel Gil-Agudo¹  Nicola Farella²  Álvaro Gutiérrez² 

[1] Biomechanics and Technical Aids Unit, Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos, Finca La Peraleda, 45071 Toledo, Spain;Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Av. Complutense 30, 28040 Madrid, Spain;

关键词: spinal cord injury;    upper limbs;    rehabilitation platform;    virtual reality;    haptic feedback;    LeapMotion;   

DOI  :  10.3390/app11062476

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Cervical spinal cord injury is damage to the spinal cord that causes temporary or permanent changes in body functions below the site of the injury. In particular, the impairment of the upper limbs limits the patient’s autonomy in the execution of activities of daily living. This paper illustrates the use of a low-cost robot with a virtual reality platform for upper limb rehabilitation of cervical spinal cord injury patients. Vibration and pressure haptic feedback sensations are provided thanks to a custom-made thimble feedback device. The virtual reality platform consists of three different virtual rehabilitation games developed in Unity. They provide the user with the opportunity to interact with the virtual scene using free hands thanks to the data collected by a hand tracking system. During the therapy session, quantitative data about the motor performance are collected. Each virtual reality environment can be modified in settings according to the patients’ needs. A proof of concept was performed with both healthy subjects and spinal cord injured patients to evaluate the platform and its usability. The data saved during the sessions are analyzed to validate the importance of haptic feedback and stored both for patients and therapists to control the performance and the recovery process.

【 授权许可】

Unknown