Daily-Life Exercises for Haptic Motor Rehabilitation

Haptic-based virtual rehabilitation systems have recently become a subject of interest. In addition to the benefits provided by virtual rehabilitation, they offer force and tactile feedback which can be crucial for many upper and lower extremity rehabilitation. In this paper, we present a system that uses haptics, in conjunction with virtual environments, to provide a rich media environment for motor rehabilitation of stroke patients. The system also provides occupational therapists with a human-computer interface that allows for easier set-up, more facilitated interaction with the system, and provides a more autonomous means for the progression of the patient. The system had been modified, after thorough analysis by a group of experienced occupational therapists. The result is a new set of exercises and a more advanced user interface, as will be presented.