Abstract
Neurorehabilitation for stroke is important for upper limb motor recovery. Conventional rehabilitation such as occupational therapy has been used, but novel technologies are expected to open new opportunities for better recovery. Virtual reality (VR) is a technology with a set of informatics that provides interactive environments to patients. VR can enhance neuroplasticity and recovery after a stroke by providing more intensive, repetitive, and engaging training due to several advantages, including: (1) tasks with various difficulty levels for rehabilitation, (2) augmented real-time feedback, (3) more immersive and engaging experiences, (4) more standardized rehabilitation, and (5) safe simulation of real-world activities of daily living. In this comprehensive narrative review of the application of VR in motor rehabilitation after stroke, mainly for the upper limbs, we cover: (1) the technologies used in VR rehabilitation, including sensors; (2) the clinical application of and evidence for VR in stroke rehabilitation; and (3) considerations for VR application in stroke rehabilitation. Meta-analyses for upper limb VR rehabilitation after stroke were identified by an online search of Ovid-MEDLINE, Ovid-EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and KoreaMed. We expect that this review will provide insights into successful clinical applications or trials of VR for motor rehabilitation after stroke.
Highlights
Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and socioeconomic burden worldwide [1]
Non-immersive Virtual reality (VR) allows users to experience a virtual environment as observers and interact with the virtual environment by using devices that cannot fully overwhelm sensory perceptions [22], which results in a lesser feeling of immersion in the virtual world
VR rehabilitation moderately improves functional outcomes compared to CT in patients with stroke
Summary
Stroke is one of the leading causes of disability and socioeconomic burden worldwide [1]. Med. 2020, 9, 3369 the corresponding scene on the display when the user looks at it, the interaction evokes a feeling of existing in a virtual environment, which is referred to as “presence.” control of the avatar’s body movements by those of the user can even induce a feeling of ownership in which the user regards the avatar’s body parts as surrogates of their own, a phenomenon called “virtual embodiment” [21] Based on these factors, users are fully immersed, which allows them to experience where they are and what they do there in a way that is similar to real/lived experience
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