Stroke rehabilitation
Introduction
This project is a virtual reality application that helps rehabilitation of stroke patients. VR equipment can provide virtual place for real-live activities and is a good method for Stroke treatment. The application can bring to the patient interesting and various mind training and physical treatments.
Application Description
The simulation requires users to complete a sequence of interactions for cognitive practice. Stoke patients have difficulty in taking care of themselves or completing daily route. For instance, they may not be able to use the key to open the door.
Traditional stroke rehabilitation can be a boring and long process for most of the patients. It is common that they have difficulty in moving. So, they can only do repetitive treatments is a small room or on the bed.
Laver etal (2015) described that playing VR video game for stroke rehabilitation is a new trend because video game provides stimulation and hypnosis that help repairing nerve in brain. My application adapts throwing AXE to destroy the door. This is more interesting rather than real-world.
Lee (2019) demonstrated that stroke patient has nerve damage that causes difficulty in movement and taking care of himself. Facing this situation, treatment is likely to be catching a ball or stretching muscles on the bed. It is boring. Stroke treatment with VR can provide multiple virtual places. The most important point is that using VR to simulate walking or grabbing a ball can trick the brain to take control of the motor function. It helps nerve repairing. So, my application gives up teleport action. Players must use joystick to move to trick the brain for re-building the nerve system.
Saebo(2022) described that their application focus on real life challenges. Their goals are ADL (activities of daily living). Their application simulates supermarket for shopping, digging the hole in the garden and feeding the dog. It is a good practice. My application involves using a key to open door and pressing a button to turn off light. It also focuses on real-life practice. My application should add more elements to make it interesting such as grabbing a key from the dragon’s month.
It means if the users in my application cannot move, the users need to stretch their arms to cross the trap to press the button or to get a key from the dragon’s month and stretching their arms is associated with coordinator.
However, my application does not have dragon or trap now, but I extend the table boundary, so the patients need to stretch their arms to complete the task.
In order to relieve pressure of the patients, the application designs a “flip the table” function. This behavior is not possible in real world. Users can do what is not allow to do in real world for fun and hence relieving pressure. Cognihab(2021) stated that 360-degree view of the nature around patients. My application has only one wall. In the future, it will add more tree and sea.
Interaction Designs
A VR headset is needed since it allows real life practice to users. Users who have difficulty in moving can only do treatments in the room. However, VR can provide “real-world” or “Magic-world” to them. VR can use “their house door” picture on the VR door. These practices can effectively help them adapt daily activities and are more interesting compared with traditional treatments. In wade, patients may feel unsafe. VR headsets provide them “their houses” to perform the treatment.
Technical development
Development of this project is to use Oculus Quest 1 VR and Unity. User will use VR controller to perform throwing, grabbing, and pressing behavior. Using joystick on Quest controller can move player location.
Users can use joystick to move and adjust direction.
Using “L” button to grab an item.
Releasing “L” button to throw an item.
Using “R” button to press a button.
Player can use key or axe to “Flip the table”. Hidden achievement is “stand on flipped table”. When table is horizontal on the ground, players will be able to stand on the table.
When completed three actions, these doors will be changed to green color.
Descriptions of 3D models:
All 3D is downloaded from poly pizza.
Laver KE, Lange B, George S, Deutsch JE, Saposnik G, Crotty M. Virtual reality for stroke rehabilitation. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2017 Nov 20;11(11):CD008349. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD008349.pub4. PMID: 29156493; PMCID: PMC6485957.
https://www.neurofunctionrehab.ca/service/virtual-reality-rehabilitation/
https://www.cognihab.com/blog/virtual-reality-for-stroke-rehabilitation/
https://illumin.usc.edu/a-stroke-of-genius-neurorehabilitation-through-virtual-reality/
https://www.saebo.com/blog/benefits-virtual-reality-stroke-rehabilitation/
Leave a comment
Log in with itch.io to leave a comment.