Abstract
Neuromuscular impairment requires adherence to a rehabilitation regimen for maximum recovery of motor function. Consumer-grade game controllers have emerged as a viable means to relay supervised physical therapy to patients’ homes, thereby increasing their accessibility to healthcare. These controllers allow patients to perform exercise frequently and improve their rehabilitation outcomes. However, the non-universal design of game controllers targets healthy people and does not always accommodate people with disability. Consequently, many patients experience considerable difficulty assuming certain hand postures and performing the prescribed exercise correctly. Here, we explore the feasibility of improving rehabilitation outcomes through a 3D printing approach that enhances off-the-shelf game controllers in home therapy. Specifically, a custom attachment was 3D printed for a commercial haptic device that mediates fine motor rehabilitation. In an experimental study, 25 healthy subjects performed a navigation task, with the retrofit attachment and without it, while simulating disability of the upper limb. When using the attachment, subjects extended their wrist range of motion, yet maintained their level of compensation. The subjects also showed higher motivation to repeat the exercise with the enhanced device. The results bring forward evidence for the potential of this approach in transforming game controllers toward targeted interventions in home therapy.
Highlights
Neuromuscular impairment requires adherence to a rehabilitation regimen for maximum recovery of motor function
Individuals with neuromuscular disability can be successfully reintegrated into society by adhering to a rehabilitation regimen consisting of repetitive, high-intensity exercises[4,5,6]
Recovery of neuromuscular function is well-documented, but it requires adherence to a rehabilitation regimen consisting of repetitive, high-intensity exercises[4,5,6]
Summary
Neuromuscular impairment requires adherence to a rehabilitation regimen for maximum recovery of motor function. Consumer-grade game controllers have emerged as a viable means to relay supervised physical therapy to patients’ homes, thereby increasing their accessibility to healthcare These controllers allow patients to perform exercise frequently and improve their rehabilitation outcomes. Telerehabilitation allows therapists to provide services for multiple patients simultaneously, and supplement the exercise with frequent feedback[10,11] While all of these reasons favor telerehabilitation over traditional in-clinic therapy, telerehabilitation remains impracticable due to high costs[10,12]. Java Therapy is an early example of a web-based, low-cost telerehabilitation platform, targeting upper limb impairment in stroke patients[14] It consists of a haptic Logitech Wingman Forcefeedback Pro joystick and a custom computer software. It seems tenable that impairments can be treated with commercial game controllers of sorts In spite of their promising telerehabilitative prospects, off-the-shelf devices are not free of limitations. The latter concerns the limited ability of the device to promote healthy physiological movements while inhibiting the execution of abnormal movements[18]
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