Neurorehabilitation

Author(s):  
Belén Rubio Ballester

This chapter considers the ability of the damaged brain to reorganize following trauma and how this can be facilitated through interaction with virtual reality or robotic technologies. Stroke represents one of the main causes of adult disability and will be one of the main contributors to the burden of disease in by 2030. In this chapter we first review the main neuroscientific principles of recovery. Second, we explore the some of the latest technological approaches for neurorehabilitation, such as assistive exoskeletons and virtual reality systems. We describe a new virtual reality gaming system (RGS) that combines training scenarios with dedicated interface devices to optimize motor and cognitive training. RGS builds on theories of brain plasticity, thus we show how a living machines perspective can be used to create practical and useful systems that address a significant societal need. Finally, we comment on the broader advantages and potential applications of VR to maximize recovery.

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lorraine Tudor Car ◽  
Bhone Myint Kyaw ◽  
Josip Car

BACKGROUND Digital technology called Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly employed in health professions’ education. Yet, based on the current evidence, its use is narrowed around a few most applications and disciplines. There is a lack of an overview that would capture the diversity of different VR applications in health professions’ education and inform its use and research. OBJECTIVE This narrative review aims to explore different potential applications of VR in health professions’ education. METHODS The narrative synthesis approach to literature review was used to analyse the existing evidence. RESULTS We outline the role of VR features such as immersion, interactivity and feedback and explain the role of VR devices. Based on the type and scope of educational content VR can represent space, individuals, objects, structures or their combination. Application of VR in medical education encompasses environmental, organ and micro level. Environmental VR focuses on training in relation to health professionals’ environment and human interactions. Organ VR educational content targets primarily human body anatomy; and micro VR microscopic structures at the level of cells, molecules and atoms. We examine how different VR features and health professional education areas match these three VR types. CONCLUSIONS We conclude by highlighting the gaps in the literature and providing suggestions for future research.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Frederick Bulagang ◽  
James Mountstephens ◽  
Jason Teo

Abstract Background Emotion prediction is a method that recognizes the human emotion derived from the subject’s psychological data. The problem in question is the limited use of heart rate (HR) as the prediction feature through the use of common classifiers such as Support Vector Machine (SVM), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN) and Random Forest (RF) in emotion prediction. This paper aims to investigate whether HR signals can be utilized to classify four-class emotions using the emotion model from Russell’s in a virtual reality (VR) environment using machine learning. Method An experiment was conducted using the Empatica E4 wristband to acquire the participant’s HR, a VR headset as the display device for participants to view the 360° emotional videos, and the Empatica E4 real-time application was used during the experiment to extract and process the participant's recorded heart rate. Findings For intra-subject classification, all three classifiers SVM, KNN, and RF achieved 100% as the highest accuracy while inter-subject classification achieved 46.7% for SVM, 42.9% for KNN and 43.3% for RF. Conclusion The results demonstrate the potential of SVM, KNN and RF classifiers to classify HR as a feature to be used in emotion prediction in four distinct emotion classes in a virtual reality environment. The potential applications include interactive gaming, affective entertainment, and VR health rehabilitation.


2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (2) ◽  
pp. 619-627 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stelios Zygouris ◽  
Konstantinos Ntovas ◽  
Dimitrios Giakoumis ◽  
Konstantinos Votis ◽  
Stefanos Doumpoulakis ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 089198872110064
Author(s):  
Kevin Duff ◽  
Jian Ying ◽  
Kayla R. Suhrie ◽  
Bonnie C.A. Dalley ◽  
Taylor J. Atkinson ◽  
...  

Objective: Computerized cognitive training has been successful in healthy older adults, but its efficacy has been mixed in patients with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI). Methods: In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, parallel clinical trial, we examined the short- and long-term efficacy of a brain-plasticity computerized cognitive training in 113 participants with amnestic MCI. Results: Immediately after 40-hours of training, participants in the active control group who played computer games performed better than those in the experimental group on the primary cognitive outcome (p = 0.02), which was an auditory memory/attention composite score. There were no group differences on 2 secondary outcomes (global cognitive composite and rating of daily functioning). After 1 year, there was no difference between the 2 groups on primary or secondary outcomes. No adverse events were noted. Conclusions: Although the experimental cognitive training program did not improve outcomes in those with MCI, the short-term effects of the control group should not be dismissed, which may alter treatment recommendations for these patients.


Author(s):  
Sean A. McGlynn ◽  
Ranjani M. Sundaresan ◽  
Wendy A. Rogers

Virtual reality (VR) has potential applications for promoting physical, cognitive, and socio-emotional well-being for users of all ages. The ability for individuals to develop a sense of being physically located in the virtual environment, referred to as spatial presence, is often an essential component of successful VR applications. Thus, it is necessary to understand the psychological aspects of the spatial presence process and identify methods of measuring presence formation and maintenance. This in-progress study addresses gaps in the spatial presence literature through an empirical evaluation of a conceptual model of spatial presence, which emphasizes users’ characteristics and abilities. Age will serve as a proxy for changes in a variety of presence-relevant cognitive and perceptual abilities. The results will have implications for the design of VR systems and applications and for selecting individuals best-suited for these applications.


2021 ◽  
pp. e20210009
Author(s):  
Katherine McCaw ◽  
Andrew West ◽  
Colleen Duncan ◽  
Danielle Frey ◽  
Felix Duerr

The COVID-19 pandemic has catalyzed the use of novel teaching modalities to enhance the provision of remote veterinary education. In this study, we describe the use of immersive virtual reality (iVR) as a teaching aid for veterinary medicine students during their orthopedics clinical rotation. Student sentiments were assessed using voluntary electronic surveys taken by veterinary students before and after the rotation. The most noteworthy benefits students reported were improved engagement with the course content, information retention, radiographic interpretation, and clinical reasoning skills. Obstacles encountered during the initial stages of the program included financial and temporal investment in equipment and content development, technical troubleshooting, and motion sickness. Though it is unlikely that iVR will ever fully replace hands-on learning experiences, it presents an educational opportunity to supplement traditional learning methods, motivate students, and fill information gaps. As iVR technology continues to evolve and improve, potential applications in the veterinary curriculum grow, making the modality’s use progressively more advantageous. Although this study describes its application in an orthopedic setting, the versatility of the iVR modality lends the potential for it to be implemented in a number of clinical and didactic settings.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document