Rehab-Immersive: A framework to support the development of virtual reality applications in upper limb rehabilitation

Abstract

In this article, we present a framework, called Rehab-Immersive (RI), for the development of virtual reality clinical applications as a complement to the rehabilitation of patients with spinal cord injuries. RI addresses the interaction of patients with virtual worlds, considering upper limb motor impairments. A preconfiguration allows customization for each patient’s specific needs. RI also stores kinematics data, providing clinical staff with a valuable tool to evaluate progress and patient exercise performance. As an example, a virtual version of the Box & Block test is presented.

Keywords

• Virtual reality (VR)
• Upper-limb rehabilitation
• Software framework
• Spinal cord injuries (SCI)
• Kinematic data
• Box & Block test