Abstract
BackgroundFunctional exercise is crucial for breast cancer patients after surgery, and the use of virtual reality technology to assist patients with postoperative upper limb functional rehabilitation has gradually attracted the attention of researchers. However, the usability of the developed rehabilitation system is still unknown to a large extent. The purpose of this study was to develop a virtual reality upper limb rehabilitation system for patients after breast cancer surgery and to explore its usability.MethodsWe built a multidisciplinary team based on virtual reality and human-computer interaction technology and designed and developed an upper limb function rehabilitation system for breast cancer patients after surgery. Breast cancer patients were recruited from a grade III-a general hospital in Changchun city for the experiment. We used the System Usability Scale to evaluate the system availability, the Presence Questionnaire scale to measure the immersive virtual reality scene, and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire subjective measurement scale for simulator sickness symptoms.ResultsThis upper limb rehabilitation system hardware consisted of Head-mounted Display, a control handle and notebook computers. The software consisted of rehabilitation exercises and game modules. A total of 15 patients were tested on this system, all of whom were female. The mean age was 54.73±7.78 years, and no patients were excluded from the experiment because of adverse reactions such as dizziness and vomiting. The System Usability Scale score was 90.50±5.69, the Presence Questionnaire score was 113.40±9.58, the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire-nausea score was 0.93±1.16, the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire-oculomotor score was 0.80±1.27, the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire-disorientation score was 0.80±1.27, and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire total score was 2.53±3.40.ConclusionsThis study fills in the blanks regarding the upper limb rehabilitation of breast cancer patients based on virtual reality technology system usability research. As the starting point of research in the future, we will improve the system’s function and design strictly randomized controlled trials, using larger samples in the promotion, to evaluate its application in breast cancer patients with upper limbs and other physiological functions and the feasibility and effects of rehabilitation.
Highlights
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy threatening women’s health
We used the System Usability Scale to evaluate the system availability, the Presence Questionnaire scale to measure the immersive virtual reality scene, and the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire subjective measurement scale for simulator sickness symptoms. This upper limb rehabilitation system hardware consisted of Head-mounted Display, a control handle and notebook computers
The software consisted of rehabilitation exercises and game modules
Summary
Breast cancer is the most common malignancy threatening women’s health. The latest report of the International Agency for Research on Cancer shows that in 2018, the number of new cases of breast cancer increased by approximately 2.09 million worldwide, accounting for 24.2% of all cases of female cancer [1], while the number of new cases in China accounted for approximately 37% of all cases of female cancer [2].Surgery is the main treatment for breast cancer [3,4,5]. Rehabilitation exercise can improve muscle pump, promote lymphatic fluid flow, aerobic training can increase intra-abdominal pressure, to promote chest duct pump blood, improve lymphatic reflux [19] It is safe and effective for patients at risk of breast cancer–related lymphedema and those with BCRL at all points in the life trajectory [14, 20, 21]. After upper limb exercise and muscle relaxation training, the affected shoulder function and health-related quality of life were significantly improved, and early rehabilitation treatment (including range of motion of shoulder and intensive exercise) could improve the range of motion of shoulder after breast cancer surgery [26, 27]. The purpose of this study was to develop a virtual reality upper limb rehabilitation system for patients after breast cancer surgery and to explore its usability
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