Arm Rehab Via Virtual Reality a Possibility for Stroke Patients
From: Physical Therapy Products - 11/13/2017

Idaho State University (ISU) mechanical engineering and physical therapy
faculty have created a virtual reality system designed to help stroke
patients rehabilitate their arms.

Subjects wear a virtual reality headset and use it to complete tasks created
for the virtual world, the news story explains. The virtual reality system
picks up the actual movements of their own arm and displays it as a cartoon
figure within the virtual world. The subject may then participate in the
virtual world task that include picking up balls and throwing them at a
target or stacking cubes using their right or left hand. In addition, the
system has been developed to reflect the image of the arm being used.

For example, if a person is using the right arm to complete the task, the
virtual reality system reflects the image so that the cartoon arm actions
being portrayed look as if it is the left arm performing the task. This
reflected image of arm function has the potential to be used as a therapeutic
intervention because previous research has shown that observing an action
activates the same area of the brain as performing the action.

Read the entire article at:
http://www.ptproductsonline.com/2017/11/arm-rehab-stroke-patients-possibility-via-virtual-reality

Links:
ISU Engineering continues work on augmented reality device to aid arm
  rehabilitation
https://idahostatejournal.com/community/isu-engineering-continues-work-on-augmented-reality-device-to-aid/article_fc803de5-bab9-5424-be6e-2e4a51cea9d9.html

Alba Perez-Gracia
https://www2.cose.isu.edu/~perealba