Development of an Integrated Actuated Hand Orthosis and Virtual Reality System for Home-Based Rehabilitation
Ghassemi, M.; Ochoa, J.M.; Yuan, N.; Tsoupikova, D.; Kamper, D.
Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference 2018: 1689-1692
2018
ISSN/ISBN: 2694-0604 PMID: 30440720 DOI: 10.1109/embc.2018.8512704
Accession: 065751950
Stroke survivors often require a lengthy and costly rehabilitation regimen to regain some of the hand function lost due to stroke. Financial, travel, and scheduling issues can limit access to clinical therapy, thereby depriving individuals of care. Interventions are needed which can extend from the clinic into the home. Home-based rehabilitation strategies, however, must promote sensorimotor learning while maintaining user engagement. Virtual reality, in combination with actuated orthoses, has the potential to provide solutions to these issues. The orthosis can facilitate appropriate therapy while the virtual reality can provide a conduit for maintaining human interaction and engagement in the home environment. In this paper, we describe the development of such an integrated system for hand and upper extremity rehabilitation.