Article Review

Virtual Reality for Stroke Rehabilitation

Kate Laver, Stacey George, Susie Thomas, Judith E. Deutsch and Maria Crotty

Stroke. 2012;43:e20-e21, originally published January 23, 2012

Though this is not specifically to do with games, the application of VR to real-world situations has always interested me, and is something that, especially after some experience with VR, seems like a really logical 'next step' to me. 

Aims

The main goal of this study was to research and evaluate the effects of virtual reality games in patients rehabilitating from strokes, compared with a) alternative therapy (intervention), or b) none at all. The researches also explored how feasible VR rehabilitation would actually be by measuring recruitment rates. 


Methods
The methodology used in this study I believe would qualify as qualitative research. The researchers utilised the Cochrane Stoke Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, MEDLINE, EMBASE, as well as 7 other databases, as well as contacting key researchers and VR manufacturers. For the purposes of this study, VR (Virtual Reality) is defined as “an advanced form of human-computer interface that allows the user to ‘interact’ with and become ‘immersed’ in a computer-generated environment in a naturalistic fashion.” The researchers undertook 19 different trials with 565 participants. Two of these trials involved commercially available gaming setups, while the others used programs designed specifically for rehabilitation. 

Findings

The researchers eventually found that there was very limited evidence that the use of VR, and interactive gaming, was beneficial in improving limb function and daily activities when compared with the same 'dose' of standard stroke therapy. The researches also noted that there was insufficient evidence to reach a conclusion as to whether or not VR had any effect on patients' gait speed. The researchers do note, however, that "Virtual reality appears to be a promising intervention with reasonable effect sizes. However, at present, studies are too few and too small to draw conclusions." The also went on to state that the number of adverse affects (i.e nausea, headache etc.) was low enough to suggest that this approach is relatively safe, though this can vary from person to person, task to task, and from software to software. Their final findings are essentially that more controlled trials are required to properly determine which types of programs are the most effective, which patients will benefit the most, and at what point during the rehabilitation should this approach be used. 

I personally find this study quite interesting. I was genuinely surprised to read that the researchers didn't notice much of a benefit, as with my own VR experiences I can already clearly see this sort of technology being used in a medical/therapeutic way. It is worth noting though that this article is from February of 2012, long before practical use of VR was commercially available - the first Oculus Rift prototype was only designed in 2010.