The TRAVEE System for a Multimodal Neuromotor Rehabilitation

Abstract

As more and more people are left disabled by stroke each year, it is of vital importance to progress in the research of new ways to improve their condition and to ensure that they maintain their independence as much as possible in everyday life. A step in this direction of research was taken with TRAVEE, a system dedicated to neuromotor rehabilitation after stroke. To reach this goal, the TRAVEE has benefited from several innovative ideas and technologies—virtual reality, brain–computer interfaces, functional electrical stimulation, robotics, haptics, multimodal feedback, and a novel idea in information and communications technology systems for rehabilitation—visual augmentation as a form of feedback to the patient. Through visual augmentation, the TRAVEE immerses the patient in a virtual environment where his movements are rendered as being better than in the real world, and in this way diminishing his disability. We believe that this process—that is pending for patent—will greatly impact the recovery process after stroke, by providing more motivating sessions, while supporting the cortical reorganization process. This paper presents an overview of the TRAVEE system, the perspectives that supported it, details regarding its development, as well as the results of the clinical tests that were performed with the system.

Keywords

• Multimodal feedback
• neuromotor rehabilitation
• virtual reality
• visual augmentation