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
. 2023 Jan 14;27(4):1-16.
doi: 10.1007/s10055-023-00747-6. Online ahead of print.

Home-based immersive virtual reality physical rehabilitation in paediatric patients for upper limb motor impairment: a feasibility study

Ivan Phelan  1 , Alicia Carrion-Plaza  1 , Penny J Furness  2 , Paul Dimitri  3
Affiliations

Home-based immersive virtual reality physical rehabilitation in paediatric patients for upper limb motor impairment: a feasibility study

Ivan Phelan et al. Virtual Real. .

Abstract

Upper limb motor impairment (ULMI) rehabilitation is a long-term, demanding and challenging process to recover motor functionality. Children and adolescents may be limited in daily life activities due to reduced functions such as decreased joint movement or muscle weakness. Home-based therapy with Immersive Virtual Reality can offer greater accessibility, delivery and early rehabilitation to significantly optimise functional outcomes and quality of life. This feasibility study aimed to explore the perceptions and impacts of an immersive and interactive VR scenario suitable for ULMI rehabilitation for children at home. It was analysed using mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) and from a multidirectional perspective (patients, clinicians and family members). Amongst the main results, it was found that IVR for ULMI home rehabilitation (1) is easy to learn and acceptable; (2) improves motor function; (3) reduces the difficulty in the reproduction of therapeutic movements; (4) is motivating and enjoyable and (5) improves quality of life. This study is the first study on the use of IVR applied to home rehabilitation of ULMI in children. These results suggested that similar outcomes may be possible with self-directed IVR home rehabilitation compared to face to face conventional rehabilitation, which can be costly to both the patient and the healthcare system, decreasing the length of stay at the hospital and treatment duration. It has also presented an innovative solution to the Covid-19 emergency where children could not receive their clinic therapy. Further research is recommended to understand better the mechanisms involved in physiotherapeutic recovery and how IVR rehabilitation helps to improve conventional treatments. Trial Registration Protocol ID NCT05272436. Release Date: 9th March 2022.

Keywords: Children’s rehabilitation; Pain management; Patient-centred design; Upper limb motor impairment; Virtual reality.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestThe authors declare that the research was conducted without any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
New scenarios: Forest level. A woodland environment with balloon targets and destructible gnomes acted as a tutorial for the archery mechanic
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
New scenarios: Tower level. An attached rope (rope arrow) could be tethered to two points to create a rope bridge. An exciting space with more intricate puzzles
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
The companion. It is an animated blue flame that follows the player giving clues and highlighting points of interest
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
New scenarios: Mine level. A fantasy diamond mine with platforms, levers and carts that the player has to interact with. The teleport arrow mechanic is introduced along with the other arrows. This provided a challenge to the user and a chance to test out their skills
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Content analysis themes from the patients, parents and OT interviews: “System Playability” and “Comparison of IVR with CR”
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Aydın Aİ, Özyazıcıoğlu N. Using a virtual reality headset to decrease pain felt during a venipuncture procedure in children. J Perianesth Nurs. 2019;34(6):1215–1221. doi: 10.1016/j.jopan.2019.05.134. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Bortone I, Barsotti M, Leonardis D, Crecchi A, Tozzini A, Bonfiglio L, Frisoli A. Immersive virtual environments and wearable haptic devices in rehabilitation of children with neuromotor impairments: a single-blind randomized controlled crossover pilot study. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2020;17(1):144. doi: 10.1186/s12984-020-00771-6. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Brooke J. SUS: a “Quick and Dirty” usability scale. In: Jordan PW, Thomas B, Weerdmeester BA, McClelland IL, editors. Usability evaluation in industry. Taylor & Francis; 1996. pp. 189–194.
    1. Brusque T, Vieira L, Guarnieri R, Massetti T, Ferreira F, Abreu L, Mello C. Virtual reality software package for implementing motor learning and rehabilitation experiments. Virtual Real. 2018;22(3):199–209. doi: 10.1007/s10055-017-0323-2. - DOI
    1. Cambiaso-Daniel J, Malagaris I, Rivas E, Hundeshagen G, Voigt C, Blears E, Mlcak R, Herndon D, Finnerty C, Suman O. Body composition changes in severely burned children during Intensive Care Unit Hospitalization Janos. Pediatr Crit Care Med. 2017;18(12):598–605. doi: 10.1097/PCC.0000000000001347. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Associated data

LinkOut - more resources