Fall-Prone Older People's Attitudes towards the Use of Virtual Reality Technology for Fall Prevention

Background: Virtual reality (VR) technology is a relatively new rehabilitation tool that can deliver a combination of cognitive and motor training for fall prevention. The attitudes of older people to such training are currently unclear. Objective: This study aimed to investigate: (1) the attitudes of fall-prone older people towards fall prevention exercise with and without VR; (2) attitudinal changes after intervention with and without VR; and (3) user satisfaction following fall prevention exercise with and without VR. Methods: A total of 281 fall-prone older people were randomly assigned to an experimental group receiving treadmill training augmented by VR (TT+VR, n = 144) or a control group receiving treadmill training alone (TT, n = 137). Two questionnaires were used to measure (1) attitudes towards fall prevention exercise with and without VR (AQ); and (2) user satisfaction (USQ). AQ was evaluated at baseline and after intervention. USQ was measured after intervention only. Results: The AQ revealed that most participants had positive attitudes towards fall prevention exercise at baseline (82.2%) and after intervention (80.6%; p = 0.144). In contrast, only 53.6% were enthusiastic about fall prevention exercise with VR at baseline. These attitudes positively changed after intervention (83.1%; p < 0.001), and 99.2% indicated that they enjoyed TT+VR. Correlation analyses showed that postintervention attitudes were strongly related to user satisfaction (USQ: r = 0.503; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Older people's attitudes towards fall prevention exercise with VR were positively influenced by their experience. From the perspective of the user, VR is an attractive training mode, and thus improving service provision for older people is important.

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Clinical Experience Using a 5-Week Treadmill Training Program With Virtual Reality to Enhance Gait in an Ambulatory Physical Therapy Service

Physical Therapy ◽

10.2522/ptj.20130305 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 94 (9) ◽

pp. 1319-1326 ◽

Cited By ~ 21

Author(s):

Shirley Roth Shema ◽

Marina Brozgol ◽

Moran Dorfman ◽

Inbal Maidan ◽

Lior Sharaby-Yeshayahu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Physical Therapy ◽

Training Program ◽

Clinical Experience ◽

Gait Training ◽

Treadmill Training ◽

Step Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Positive Effects ◽

Clinical Records

BackgroundCurrent literature views safe gait as a complex task, relying on motor and cognitive resources. The use of virtual reality (VR) in gait training offers a multifactorial approach, showing positive effects on mobility, balance, and fall risk in elderly people and individuals with neurological disorders. This form of training has been described as a viable research tool; however, it has not been applied routinely in clinical practice. Recently, VR was used to develop an adjunct training method for use by physical therapists in an ambulatory clinical setting.ObjectiveThe aim of this article is to describe the initial clinical experience of applying a 5-week VR clinical service to improve gait and mobility in people with a history of falls, poor mobility, or postural instability.DesignA retrospective data analysis was conducted.MethodsThe clinical records of the first 60 patients who completed the VR gait training program were examined. Training was provided 3 times per week for 5 weeks, with each session lasting approximately 1 hour and consisting of walking on a treadmill while negotiating virtual obstacles. Main outcome measures were compared across time and included the Timed “Up & Go” Test (TUG), the Two-Minute Walk Test (2MWT), and the Four Square Step Test (FSST).ResultsAfter 5 weeks of training, time to complete the TUG decreased by 10.3%, the distance walked during the 2MWT increased by 9.5%, and performance on the FSST improved by 13%.LimitationsLimitations of the study include the use of a retrospective analysis with no control group and the lack of objective cognitive assessment.ConclusionsTreadmill training with VR appears to be an effective and practical tool that can be applied in an outpatient physical therapy clinic. This training apparently leads to improvements in gait, mobility, and postural control. It, perhaps, also may augment cognitive and functional aspects.

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Design and Practice of Chemistry Teachers' Workshop Supported by Virtual Reality Technology

Journal of Education Society and Behavioural Science ◽

10.9734/jesbs/2020/v33i430214 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 11-20

Author(s):

Beibei Xu ◽

Suyi Xu ◽

Christsam Joy S. Jaspe ◽

Ying Xu

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Knowledge Sharing ◽

Average Score ◽

Control Group ◽

Virtual Reality Technology ◽

Chemistry Teachers ◽

Kappa Value ◽

Design And Practice ◽

Experimental Group

Introducing virtual reality technology into the chemistry teachers' workshops can motivate teachers immersion and participation in workshop, and promote the research effect of the workshops, which is beneficial the professional development of teachers. Based on the characteristic of chemistry subject, this paper focus on the scheme and effect of introduction virtual reality technology into teachers' workshop. A comparative experiment is used to discuss the practical effect of teachers' workshop. By designing a framework strategy, virtual reality technology is introduced in teachers' workshop, the experimental group (51) and the control group (58) was established for comparative study. Adopt the method of quantitative analysis to evaluate the quantitative and qualitative data of knowledge sharing. Particularly, by utilizing the Kappa value estimated the consistency of table that measures the quality of knowledge sharing. The experimental group is superior to the control group in terms of login frequency, average online time and quality of knowledge sharing content. It logged in 2.5 times a day for an average of 1.7 hours, however, the control group with an average of 0.9 hours. The experimental group average 1.38 posts were greater than the control group with average 0.78 posts which issued by each teacher. Then, the average score of "theme" in the experimental group was higher than the experimental group about 1.7344 point, in the quality of knowledge sharing. And, the average score of contribution in the experimental group was higher than the control group too. The experimental results show that the introduction of virtual reality technology in the workshop can effectively improve the enthusiasm and participation of teachers, the teachers' research effect in this designed workshop also was increased significantly.

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Effects of virtual reality-based treadmill training on the balance and gait ability in patients after stroke

Hrvatska revija za rehabilitacijska istraživanja ◽

10.31299/hrri.57.2.6 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 57 (2) ◽

pp. 92-102

Author(s):

Maruša Kržišnik ◽

Barbara Horvat Rauter ◽

Nataša Bizovčar

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Treadmill Training ◽

Step Test ◽

Control Group ◽

Walk Test ◽

Stroke Patients ◽

Lateral Asymmetry ◽

Subacute Stroke ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Experimental Group

Gait and balance impairments contribute significantly to long-term disability after stroke. Modern concepts of stroke rehabilitation recommend a task-specific repetitive approach, such as using treadmill training. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of using virtual reality-based treadmill training to improve balance and gait in subacute stroke patients. Twenty-two stroke patients were randomly stratified into two groups: the experimental (n = 11) and the control group (n = 11). Parameters associated with balance and gait were measured using the 6-minute walk test, the 10-meter walk test, the timed “up and go” test, the functional gait assessment, and the four square step test. Gait analysis using the zebris Rehawalk® treadmill system was also performed. Patients in the experimental group received virtual reality-based treadmill training five times a week for a period of four weeks, while those in the control group received treadmill training at the same frequency, duration, intensity, and structure, along with a progressively more difficult task demands. Significant improvements were observed in selected outcome measures in both groups after training. Patients in the experimental group experienced improvements in all of the spatiotemporal gait parameters, but there was a significant difference before and after training in duration of double support and lateral asymmetry. The findings of this pilot randomized controlled trial support the benefits of using a virtual reality-based treadmill training program to improve gait and balance in subacute stroke patients.

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Clinical Manifestations of Ultrasonic Virtual Reality in the Diagnosis and Treatment of Cardiovascular Diseases

Journal of Healthcare Engineering ◽

10.1155/2021/1746945 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Hairong Chen ◽

Qiuguo Zou ◽

Qi Wang

Keyword(s):

Cardiovascular Disease ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

Cardiovascular Diseases ◽

Diagnostic Accuracy ◽

Research Methods ◽

Disease Diagnosis ◽

Diagnosis And Treatment ◽

Control Group ◽

Accuracy Rate ◽

Virtual Reality Technology

On a global scale, cardiovascular disease has become one of the most serious diseases that endangers human health and causes death and seriously threatens human life and health. If we can make accurate, timely, and effective judgments on cardiovascular-related parameters and take corresponding effective measures, the incidence of cardiovascular diseases can be reduced to a large extent. Based on this, this paper proposes the clinical application research of ultrasound virtual reality technology in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. This article uses literature methods, experimental research methods, mathematical statistical analysis methods, and other research methods and in-depth study of virtual reality technology, cardiovascular disease, and other theoretical knowledge and briefly introduces ultrasound image denoising algorithms, such as bilateral filtering and PM model. And on this basis, it establishes clinical trials of ultrasound virtual reality technology in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular diseases. This article mainly analyzes the application of virtual reality technology, technology comparison, and the experimental results carried out in this article. From the survey results, the total prevalence of hypertension was 25.1%, and the prevalence of males and females was 25.9% and 24.4%, respectively; the diagnostic accuracy rate of the experimental group reached 85.39%, while the diagnostic accuracy rate of the control group was 76.8%. It shows that the use of ultrasound virtual reality technology for disease diagnosis can effectively improve the accuracy of cardiovascular disease diagnosis and reduce the proportion of misdiagnosis and missed detection.

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Virtual Reality Technology Combined with Comprehensive Pulmonary Rehabilitation on Patients with Stable Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Journal of Healthcare Engineering ◽

10.1155/2021/9987200 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 2021 ◽

pp. 1-9

Author(s):

Xiangmei Xie ◽

Jie Fan ◽

Huihong Chen ◽

Ling Zhu ◽

Ting Wan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Virtual Reality ◽

Pulmonary Disease ◽

Technical Support ◽

Control Group ◽

Chronic Obstructive ◽

Virtual Reality Technology ◽

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease ◽

Breathing Exercises ◽

Experimental Group

With the popularization of medical knowledge and the development of medical technology, people pay more and more attention to COPD. This paper mainly studies the effect of virtual reality technology combined with comprehensive lung rehabilitation on patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. 60 patients with stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were selected to collect their general information, such as name, gender, and age. They were divided into the experimental group and control group, 30 patients in each group. The experimental group was treated with virtual reality technology combined with lung rehabilitation, while the control group was treated with conventional rehabilitation. Patients in both groups needed medication and participated in a 30-minute disease description activity once a week. In addition, patients in the control group should walk for 20 minutes every day to monitor muscle fatigue. Breathing exercises are also carried out regularly. Patients are instructed to use their lips and abdomen for 5 minutes each time. The respiratory rate was 7 beats per minute. In addition to the routine training of the control group, the experimental group will also train the simulated bicycle for 20 minutes, which will be automatically saved on the computer after the training. After the experiment, the muscle function and motor ability of the two groups were evaluated, and the results were statistically analyzed. The total self-efficacy scores of patients before and after telemedicine technical support increased significantly (2.15 ± 0.21 before telemedicine technical support, 2.39 ± 0.20 after telemedicine technical support), and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). The results show that the application of virtual reality technology can improve the rehabilitation belief of patients and strengthen the training effect.

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540 - COGNITIVE STIMULATION THROUGH OROICOGNITIVE, A VIRTUAL REALITY APP FOR OLDER PEOPLE

International Psychogeriatrics ◽

10.1017/s1041610221002350 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (S1) ◽

pp. 83-83

Author(s):

Adriana Gómez ◽

Janeth Carreño ◽

Alvaro Berroa ◽

Ane Balenciaga

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Older People ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Cognitive Stimulation ◽

Daily Activities ◽

Control Group ◽

Global Deterioration Scale ◽

Intelligence Scale ◽

Visuospatial Skills ◽

Experimental Group

OBJECTIVE:To analyze the effectiveness of cognitive stimulation carried out through OroiCognitive, a virtual reality app, in older people, as well as its acceptance and attractiveness to them.METHOD:The research was carried out with 31 participants with a number two or three in the global deterioration scale (GDS).15 of these participants were part of the control group, and 16 of the experimental group.The intervention through virtual reality, with exercises more similar to daily activities, allows working on attention, language, memory, orientation, visuospatial skills and executive functions.It was carried out in 12 sessions, 3 times a week, lasting 25 minutes each one, individually.Bouth groups were evaluated using the MINI-MENTAL Cognitive Examination and some subtest of the Weschler Intelligence Scale for adults (WAIS-IV).RESULTS:Regarding to the effectiveness of the stimulation, the results show significant improvements in vocabulary and information in those with GDS2, in the experimental group.No statistically significant improvements were found in the rest of the areas. Regarding the assessment of the tool, 69% of the participants rated it as quite useful and interesting. According to the qualitative data collected by the therapists, the users were happier and more animated during and after the intervention.

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Condition notification assisted by virtual reality technology reduces the anxiety levels of parents of children with simple CHD: a prospective randomised controlled study

Cardiology in the Young ◽

10.1017/s104795112100500x ◽

2022 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Li-Wen Wang ◽

Jian-Feng Liu ◽

Wen-Peng Xie ◽

Qiang Chen ◽

Hua Cao

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

State Anxiety ◽

The State ◽

Anxiety Scale ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Control Group ◽

Virtual Reality Technology ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Anxiety Levels ◽

Randomised Controlled

Abstract Purpose: This study explored the effects of condition notification based on virtual reality technology on the anxiety levels of parents of children with simple CHD. Methods: The subjects of the study were the parents of 60 children with simple CHD who were treated in our centre. The state anxiety scale was used to assess the anxiety status of the parents of the children before and after the condition notification in different ways (based on virtual reality explanations and written explanations). Results: In this study, a total of 55 parents of children with CHD successfully completed the survey. At the time of admission, there was no significant difference in the state anxiety scale scores of the parents between the two groups. The anxiety status of the virtual reality group was relieved after the condition notification assisted by virtual reality technology, and there was a significant difference compared with the control group. Conclusion: Condition notification based on virtual reality technology can effectively alleviate the anxiety of parents of children with simple CHD, which is worthy of clinical application.

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159 Reactive Balance Training for Preventing Falls in Older People

Age and Ageing ◽

10.1093/ageing/afz164.159 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 48 (Supplement_4) ◽

pp. iv34-iv39

Author(s):

Daina Sturnieks ◽

Yoshiro Okubo ◽

Matthew Brodie ◽

Stephen Lord

Keyword(s):

Older People ◽

Fall Prevention ◽

Controlled Trial ◽

Intervention Group ◽

Balance Training ◽

Good Evidence ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Control Group ◽

Prevention Interventions ◽

Reactive Balance

Abstract Appropriately timed and directed balance responses are crucial for avoiding a fall. These responses, including feet-in-place adjustments of the centre of mass, stepping and gait adaptations, may be initiated voluntarily to proactively avoid falling or induced reactively in response to sudden external perturbations to balance. Despite good evidence that poor reactive balance responses contribute to falls and injuries, traditional fall prevention interventions have ignored this skill. Reactive balance (or perturbation) training intervention methods are emerging and show promise for preventing falls in older people, some evidence suggesting a 50% reduction in falls. We recruited 44 older adults into a parallel, blinded randomized controlled trial, comparing 3 sessions of reactive balance training (exposure to trips and slips) to one session of sham training. The primary outcome was falls following laboratory-induced trips and slips (>30% body weight in harness). Relative to the control group, the intervention group experienced fewer total falls (rate ratio [RR]=0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.22-0.76), slip falls (RR=0.33, 95% CI=0.12-0.90) and trip falls (RR=0.49, 95% CI=0.21-1.12). These results will be discussed in the context of other current evidence for reactive balance training and suggestions made for how such interventions might influence the future of fall prevention.

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EXPRESS: Body Swapping with a Black Person Boosts Empathy: Using Virtual Reality to Embody Another

Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology ◽

10.1177/17470218211024826 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 174702182110248

Author(s):

Rémi Thériault ◽

Jay A. Olson ◽

Sonia A. Krol ◽

Amir Raz

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Real Time ◽

Perspective Taking ◽

Intergroup Relations ◽

The Other ◽

Control Group ◽

Virtual Reality Technology ◽

Race Bias ◽

Other Hand ◽

Black Person

Perspective-taking, whether through imagination or virtual-reality interventions, seems to improve intergroup relations; however, what intervention leads to better outcomes remains unclear. This pre-registered study collected measures of empathy and race bias from 90 participants, split into one of three perspective-taking groups: embodied perspective-taking, mental perspective-taking, and a control group. We drew on virtual-reality technology alongside a Black confederate across all conditions. Only in the first group, participants got to exchange real-time viewpoints with the confederate and literally “see through the eyes of another.” In the two other conditions, participants either imagined a day in the life of the Black confederate or in their own life, respectively. Our findings show that, compared to the control group, the embodied perspective-taking group scored higher on empathy sub-components. On the other hand, both perspective-taking interventions differentially affected neither explicit nor implicit race bias. Our study suggests that embodiment of an outgroup can enhance empathy.

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The content of professional activity as a factor of application efficiency of virtual reality technology

Experimental Psychology (Russia) ◽

10.17759/exppsy.2015080205 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 45-59 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

A.I. Kovalev ◽

G.Ya. Menshikova ◽

O.A. Klimova ◽

V.V. Barabanschikova

Keyword(s):

Virtual Reality ◽

Vestibular Function ◽

Objective Measure ◽

Professional Activity ◽

Control Group ◽

Football Players ◽

Simulator Sickness ◽

Virtual Reality Technology ◽

Figure Skaters ◽

Cognitive Information

Nowadays the virtual reality systems get to be more common and widespread in the world. They need users to develop system of the integration systems of sensory and cognitive information, while them creating polymodal effects on man. Vestibular function is one of these systems, and its disruption can lead to simulator sickness. The aim of this study was to find how professional activity of different men with similar vestibular function’s degree of development can influence on simulator sickness appearance. Eye movements were chosen as objective measure of successful interaction with virtual reality. There were attended professional athletes: 30 figure skaters, 30 wushu athletes, 30-football players and also 20 students take part as a control group. The results showed the significant different (p=0,001) between figure skaters and others by such items as number of fixations, saccades and blinks, and also amplitudes of saccades. At the same time figure skaters get lower scores in simulator sickness questionnaire, which says about less intensity of simulator disorder.

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