As modern technology continues to make major strides, it brings many important use cases to the fore, and among them is virtual reality (VR) which helps stroke survivors retrain their bodies alongside standard therapy.
Specifically, a paper published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews has found that VR, when complementing standard therapy, can assist stroke victims to regain their arm movement, according to a Medical Xpress report published on June 19.
Indeed, data from 190 trials involving 7,188 participants has analyzed a wide array of VR technologies, ranging from simple screen-based gaming to immersive, head-mounted devices particularly designed for rehabilitation settings, and the results were exceptionally promising.
How VR therapy works for stroke patients
Notably, the researchers discovered that VR alone was slightly more efficient in enhancing arm function and activity than conventional therapy. Furthermore, its efficiency grew when they added it to usual care, where it increased total therapy time and led to greater improvements in arm function.
As Professor Kate Laver, the study’s lead author from Flinders University, explained:
“Spending more time in therapy is known to improve outcomes after stroke. (…) Virtual reality can offer a fairly inexpensive and engaging way to increase the amount of therapy without a clinician’s supervision.”
On top of that, VR may help improve balance and reduce activity limitations, although enhancing mobility, participation, and quality of life through this technology hasn’t yet been the subject of more complex studies – only covering basic models, like off-the-shelf gaming systems. In Laver’s view:
“This technology has the potential to simulate real-life environments, such as shopping in a supermarket or crossing a street, which allows clinicians to trial tasks that are unsafe to practice in the real world.”
She has also voiced the opinion that “there’s a real opportunity for researchers to go further and develop more sophisticated, function-focused therapies.”
Meanwhile, Japanese automaker Toyota has created medical robots to help nearly 800 daily stroke victims walk and reduce the pressure on therapists, a mission that the company has had since 2007. Its robot features a conveyor belt like on a treadmill and a monitor that displays real-time information to help the user walk on their own.
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