Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Oct 21;9(10):3369.
doi: 10.3390/jcm9103369.

Clinical Application of Virtual Reality for Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation in Stroke: Review of Technologies and Clinical Evidence

Won-Seok Kim  1 , Sungmin Cho  2 , Jeonghun Ku  3 , Yuhee Kim  4 , Kiwon Lee  4 , Han-Jeong Hwang  5 , Nam-Jong Paik  1
Affiliations
Review

Clinical Application of Virtual Reality for Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation in Stroke: Review of Technologies and Clinical Evidence

Won-Seok Kim et al. J Clin Med. .

Abstract

Neurorehabilitation for stroke is important for upper limb motor recovery. Conventional rehabilitation such as occupational therapy has been used, but novel technologies are expected to open new opportunities for better recovery. Virtual reality (VR) is a technology with a set of informatics that provides interactive environments to patients. VR can enhance neuroplasticity and recovery after a stroke by providing more intensive, repetitive, and engaging training due to several advantages, including: (1) tasks with various difficulty levels for rehabilitation, (2) augmented real-time feedback, (3) more immersive and engaging experiences, (4) more standardized rehabilitation, and (5) safe simulation of real-world activities of daily living. In this comprehensive narrative review of the application of VR in motor rehabilitation after stroke, mainly for the upper limbs, we cover: (1) the technologies used in VR rehabilitation, including sensors; (2) the clinical application of and evidence for VR in stroke rehabilitation; and (3) considerations for VR application in stroke rehabilitation. Meta-analyses for upper limb VR rehabilitation after stroke were identified by an online search of Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed. We expect that this review will provide insights into successful clinical applications or trials of VR for motor rehabilitation after stroke.

Keywords: hemiplegia; neuronal plasticity; recovery of function; rehabilitation; sensor; stroke; virtual reality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

S.C. is the CEO of the company related to the VR-based rehabilitation system. W.-S.K. is the CMO of Delvine Inc. W.-S.K., S.C., J.K., and N.-J.P. have patents related to the VR-based rehabilitation system. W.-S.K., S.C., J.K., K.L., H.-J.H., and N.-J.P. are working for the project to develop a VR-based rehabilitation system, which has not been commercialized yet, supported by funds from the Technology Development Program for AI-Bio-Robot-Medicine Convergence (20001650). The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Approaches to promote neural plasticity.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Classification of sensor types used in virtual rehabilitation for upper limb rehabilitation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Collaborators G.S. Global, regional, and national burden of stroke, 1990–2016: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. Lancet Neurol. 2019;18:439–458. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Gorelick P.B. The future of stroke prevention by risk factor modification. Handb. Clin. Neurol. 2009;94:1261–1276. - PubMed
    1. Ovbiagele B., Goldstein L.B., Higashida R.T., Howard V.J., Johnston S.C., Khavjou O.A., Lackland D.T., Lichtman J.H., Mohl S., Sacco R.L., et al. Forecasting the future of stroke in the United States: A policy statement from the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association. Stroke. 2013;44:2361–2375. doi: 10.1161/STR.0b013e31829734f2. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Lawrence E.S., Coshall C., Dundas R., Stewart J., Rudd A.G., Howard R., Wolfe C.D. Estimates of the prevalence of acute stroke impairments and disability in a multiethnic population. Stroke. 2001;32:1279–1284. doi: 10.1161/01.STR.32.6.1279. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Faria-Fortini I., Michaelsen S.M., Cassiano J.G., Teixeira-Salmela L.F. Upper extremity function in stroke subjects: Relationships between the international classification of functioning, disability, and health domains. J. Hand Ther. 2011;24:257–264; quiz 265. doi: 10.1016/j.jht.2011.01.002. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources