Title :
Prototype of a VR upper-limb rehabilitation system enhanced with motion-based tactile feedback
Author :
Sadihov, D. ; Migge, B. ; Gassert, Roger ; Yeongmi Kim
Author_Institution :
Rehabilitation Eng. Lab., ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract :
Stroke is the leading cause of long-term disability in adults, with increasing incidence as the population ages. Physical and occupational therapy support the recovery process, with therapy duration and intensity having been identified as critical factors. However, conventional therapy is limited to a short period following the stroke, with only limited possibilities to continue therapy at home. Increasing health costs and lack of trained personnel further strengthen this problem. There is thus a great need for home-based therapy systems, allowing to engage patients and assess the training with sufficient precision to provide meaningful exercises. In this paper, we suggest expandable software architecture for virtual reality rehabilitation applications. This system utilizes various sensors and actuators (i.e. the Kinect for upper limb tracking and a haptic glove). Based on this system, we propose a motion based tactile rendering algorithm. It generates interactive vibration patterns employing the tactile apparent movement phenomenon based on user´s movement to enhance the immersion and provide sensory feedback during rehabilitation training in the virtual reality environment. Three rehabilitation game applications are presented as proof of concept of the proposed system.
Keywords :
computer games; haptic interfaces; medical computing; patient rehabilitation; patient treatment; software architecture; virtual reality; VR upper-limb rehabilitation system; expandable software architecture; home-based therapy systems; interactive vibration patterns; long-term disability; motion based tactile rendering algorithm; motion-based tactile feedback; occupational therapy; physical therapy; recovery process; rehabilitation game applications; stroke; tactile apparent movement phenomenon; therapy duration; therapy intensity; virtual reality environment; virtual reality rehabilitation applications; Games; Haptic interfaces; Hardware; Medical treatment; Semiconductor optical amplifiers; Thumb; Vibrations; Virtual reality; home-based rehabilitation; motion based tactile rendering; motion tracking; tactile interface;
Conference_Titel :
World Haptics Conference (WHC), 2013
Conference_Location :
Daejeon
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4799-0087-9
DOI :
10.1109/WHC.2013.6548450