A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation

Abstract Background The transfer of the behaviors of a human’s upper limbs to an avatar is widely used in the field of virtual reality rehabilitation. To perform the transfer, movement tracking technology is required. Traditionally, wearable tracking devices are used for tracking; however, these dev...

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Autores principales:	Kuan Cha, Jinying Wang, Yan Li, Longbin Shen, Zhuoming Chen, Jinyi Long
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	BMC 2021
Materias:	Virtual reality Avatar control Rehabilitation Upper limb Motor function Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1e6072e57c7d48da9c11c3a3ac66f50e
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id	oai:doaj.org-article:1e6072e57c7d48da9c11c3a3ac66f50e
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1e6072e57c7d48da9c11c3a3ac66f50e2021-11-28T12:38:37ZA novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation10.1186/s12984-021-00957-61743-0003https://doaj.org/article/1e6072e57c7d48da9c11c3a3ac66f50e2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-021-00957-6https://doaj.org/toc/1743-0003Abstract Background The transfer of the behaviors of a human’s upper limbs to an avatar is widely used in the field of virtual reality rehabilitation. To perform the transfer, movement tracking technology is required. Traditionally, wearable tracking devices are used for tracking; however, these devices are expensive and cumbersome. Recently, non-wearable upper-limb tracking solutions have been proposed, which are less expensive and more comfortable. However, most products cannot track the upper limbs, including the arms and all the fingers at the same time, which limits the limb parts for tracking in a virtual environment and may lead to a limited rehabilitation effect. Methods In this paper, a novel virtual reality rehabilitation system (VRRS) was developed for upper-limb rehabilitation. The VRRS could track the motion of both upper limbs, integrate fine finger motion and the range of motion of the entire arm and map the motion to an avatar. To test the performance of VRRS, two experiments were designed. In the first experiment, we investigated the effect of VRRS on virtual body ownership, agency and location of the body and usability in 8 healthy participants by comparing it with a partial upper-limb tracking method based on a Leap Motion controller (LP) in the same virtual environments. In the second experiment, we examined the feasibility of VRRS in upper-limb rehabilitation with 27 stroke patients. Results VRRS improved the users’ senses of body ownership, agency, and location of the body. The users preferred using the VRRS to using the LP. In addition, we found that although the upper limb motor function of patients from all groups was improved, the difference between the FM scores tested on the first day and the last day of the experimental group was more significant than that of the control groups. Conclusions A VRRS with motion tracking of the upper limbs and avatar control including the arms and all the fingers was developed. It resulted in an improved user experience of embodiment and effectively improved the effects of upper limb rehabilitation in stroke patients. Trial registration The study was registered at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University Identifier: KY-2020–036; Date of registration: June 01, 2020.Kuan ChaJinying WangYan LiLongbin ShenZhuoming ChenJinyi LongBMCarticleVirtual realityAvatar controlRehabilitationUpper limbMotor functionNeurosciences. Biological psychiatry. NeuropsychiatryRC321-571ENJournal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation, Vol 18, Iss 1, Pp 1-13 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Virtual reality Avatar control Rehabilitation Upper limb Motor function Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571
spellingShingle	Virtual reality Avatar control Rehabilitation Upper limb Motor function Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry RC321-571 Kuan Cha Jinying Wang Yan Li Longbin Shen Zhuoming Chen Jinyi Long A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation
description	Abstract Background The transfer of the behaviors of a human’s upper limbs to an avatar is widely used in the field of virtual reality rehabilitation. To perform the transfer, movement tracking technology is required. Traditionally, wearable tracking devices are used for tracking; however, these devices are expensive and cumbersome. Recently, non-wearable upper-limb tracking solutions have been proposed, which are less expensive and more comfortable. However, most products cannot track the upper limbs, including the arms and all the fingers at the same time, which limits the limb parts for tracking in a virtual environment and may lead to a limited rehabilitation effect. Methods In this paper, a novel virtual reality rehabilitation system (VRRS) was developed for upper-limb rehabilitation. The VRRS could track the motion of both upper limbs, integrate fine finger motion and the range of motion of the entire arm and map the motion to an avatar. To test the performance of VRRS, two experiments were designed. In the first experiment, we investigated the effect of VRRS on virtual body ownership, agency and location of the body and usability in 8 healthy participants by comparing it with a partial upper-limb tracking method based on a Leap Motion controller (LP) in the same virtual environments. In the second experiment, we examined the feasibility of VRRS in upper-limb rehabilitation with 27 stroke patients. Results VRRS improved the users’ senses of body ownership, agency, and location of the body. The users preferred using the VRRS to using the LP. In addition, we found that although the upper limb motor function of patients from all groups was improved, the difference between the FM scores tested on the first day and the last day of the experimental group was more significant than that of the control groups. Conclusions A VRRS with motion tracking of the upper limbs and avatar control including the arms and all the fingers was developed. It resulted in an improved user experience of embodiment and effectively improved the effects of upper limb rehabilitation in stroke patients. Trial registration The study was registered at the First Affiliated Hospital of Jinan University Identifier: KY-2020–036; Date of registration: June 01, 2020.
format	article
author	Kuan Cha Jinying Wang Yan Li Longbin Shen Zhuoming Chen Jinyi Long
author_facet	Kuan Cha Jinying Wang Yan Li Longbin Shen Zhuoming Chen Jinyi Long
author_sort	Kuan Cha
title	A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation
title_short	A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation
title_full	A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation
title_fullStr	A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation
title_full_unstemmed	A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation
title_sort	novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation
publisher	BMC
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1e6072e57c7d48da9c11c3a3ac66f50e
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A novel upper-limb tracking system in a virtual environment for stroke rehabilitation

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