Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation of Spinal Cord Injury

Novel applications of virtual reality (VR) technology were recently demonstrated at the University of Haifa during the Third VR Symposium. Virtual reality was used to help with rehabilitation spinal cord injury and other disabilities.

Israel21c wrote an article about the VR Symposium and talked to Prof. Patrice (Tamar) Weiss of the University of Haifa. “Look at this,” says Weiss , showing a videotape of a woman with a spinal cord injury doing traditional physiotherapy. The therapist hands her a plastic ring which she must grasp without losing her balance - then another ring, and another, and another. “Let’s face it. It’s very static and very boring.” Now she shows a videotape of another patient who is also learning to balance himself - only he is watching himself on a giant screen, against a breath-taking mountain backdrop, swatting at balls in the sky. Every ball he hits turns into a colorful bird. The scene is virtual, but the man’s movements - he is leaping and swatting with increasing determination - are very real. “It’s interesting and motivating,” explains Weiss. “I have yet to meet a patient - of any age - who didn’t like it. So it’s very effective.”

“In a newer version,” she notes excitedly, patients will wear a glove which vibrates whenever they make contact with a virtual ball - further increasing the sense of realness.”

In another application of VR technology, Weiss and the University of Haifa colleagues have developed a program to help stroke victims re-learn the basic skills required to shop on their own. The patient composes a grocery list and makes his or her way through a ‘virtual supermarket,’ seeking the right products, pulling them off the shelves and into a shopping cart, while announcements of sales are broadcast on the loudspeaker system. “It’s the first such program designed to improve both cognitive and motor skills of stroke victims,” she notes.

Source: Israel21c