Reading 11

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So as the semester is coming to an end I am going to present to you my finial chapter with all small edits made to it. Some things are mainly that of re-wording some paragraphs to maybe better describe something or to just shorten it down a little bit so its easier for the reader to retain the same quality of information in fewer words.

Introduction:

As we are seeing more and more nowadays, it's fair to say that we are heading into a new dawn of technology. We are seeing technology really evolve so far even in just the last 10 years alone. For example it used to be this mad conspiracy that we would someday have self-driving cars, yet here we are today and Tesla has given us the opportunity to do just that. It's the same with VR/AR Technology. In the field of medicine, particularly rehabilitation it used to be all "In House '' as such, all done with physical tests and objects and monitored down on a notebook. whereas today through the advancements of technology we are now seeing rehabilitation programs taking advantage of this and are now using "Virtual Spaces" to conduct their programs.

Benefits of VR/AR Technologies:

Using VR/AR technologies for rehabilitation purposes has been going on for a little while now. There are lots of benefits to using this type of technology.

One main point being that it is cost effective. While the technology may be an upfront investment to most clinics It does seem that in the long run it's actually really cost effective. Due to the fact that these technologies are in a digital format it means there is a lot less travel on patients to get to a specialised clinic. (Journal of Clinical Medicine 2019)

 

Also, With the use of these technologies, it will allow for really good and accurate tracking of a patient’s progress. For example, If a patient is in a virtual scenario they may try to react to something like grabbing a class of water for example. All their motions can be tracked in real time back to a computer for analysis by the doctors. Whereas with traditional methods of rehabilitation a doctor would be watching a patient and writing down notes so not every detail could be taken record of. (Williams et al., 2022) So it's fair to say that the technology does definitely show signs that it is beneficial to the patients.

Potential Limitations of VR/AR:

So obviously nothing comes without its cons and the use of VR/AR technologies is no exception. These technologies can be expensive as already mentioned before so, it can be limiting to how many facilities offer this type of rehabilitation to their clients.

Even if we just take a look at a consumer grade VR headset for a second, most of these devices can be acquired for €350 - €700 depending on model and specification (Oculus.com, 2021). Aswell as that medical centres will possibly need more powerful Pc’s to run the simulations that the headset is going to render. So that could be say another €500-€3000 or possibly even more all depending on specification(Oculus.com, 2021). Also, the facility for actually holding all this equipment has to be taken into account. So is there already a medical clinic that specialises in rehabilitation? Yes actually there is, one example would be that of HSB image (Rehabilitation in Virtual Reality – HVS Image, 2022) Or will a new facility need to be bought/built.? If there is an existing facility is there space to host all this equipment? So, as you can see there is a lot of factors to take into consideration when using this technology. It isn’t just simply plug and play.

 

Also, when it comes to patients carrying out the rehabilitation at home themselves there was a questionnaire carried out by the “Human Factors and Ergonomics Society” that showed that most people either didn’t have the time to actually bring themselves to do the rehab themselves or just wasn’t motivated and saw no need to do it. (Williams, Alikhademi et al., 2022). As it says on the document, Of those who were against the prescribed rehabilitation plan were asked why they didn’t like it or why they weren’t doing it. Their responses were that they “Forgot to do the exercises” & “Forgot how to do the exercises”.

Results:

The results of using VR/AR for rehabilitation purposes has been quite successful. Not everyone who participates on the program likes it and prefer traditional methods, but for those who tried it out they have improved greatly.

 

Results are from 18 Years of VR-based rehabilitation from 721 different patients.

 

Some patients have reportedly experienced “Improved aerobic function and physical activity” (Vicente-Rodriguez 2021). The studies used either VR alone or VR paired with other therapies. 15 applied treatments with only VR, while 10 combined VR with occupational therapy and physiotherapy or conventional therapy. Despite different types of VR devices used in the studies most of the protocols used the games to provide stimuli that encourage movements to improve motor function, balance, aerobic function, and pain. So as you can tell there is quite a wide range of rehabilitation that one person may need. Every case can be vastly different from one another.

Some studies also used the walking control of an avatar in a virtual environment, developed of daily activities, or training of driving skills. Both commercial and non-commercial VR devices were used in the studies.

Future use:

From the studies carried out by the “Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation back in 2013” (Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation volume 2013).

We can safely say that using VR/AR technologies as a form of rehabilitation can prove successful with the correct determination and measures in place. Most patients that have stuck to their rehab plans have seen great results especially in the areas of day-to-day life tasks in a simulated controlled environment. One thing to point out however is that typically older patients prefer the traditional methods of rehabilitation to the virtual reality methods. This can just come down the fact that maybe they aren’t as used to technology as younger generations but its great to have the technology available today to assist anyone in multiple different ways.

Strengths:

Its fair to say that VR/AR Technologies have definitely proven themselves as being a worthy rehabilitation method to continue going and developing forward in the future. It has its pros especially with helping with upper limb rehabilitation mainly with say patients of strokes but also all over areas of disabilities. As mentioned before, one major bonus to using these advanced technologies is how adaptable they can be made to one’s personal situation. For example, one patient might live in a very rural area, and it isn’t feasible to travel for say 2 hours 3 times a week to a clinic for their sessions. So instead, the technology allows for them to simply do their rehab at home or where they please. While also sending a very in debt report to the acting doctor of the patient. (Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation volume 2013)

 

Also, it can just be an uplifting experience for some patients to see a really colourful and active digital world sometimes for them to be immersed in. We must remember these people have more than likely been in the medical care system for some time or might even be in the system for the rest of their lives so its really important to at least make the experience a bit more enjoyable for them to use, an escape from a hospital room and rather just have a little bit of fun while they’re at it.

Conclusion:

My conclusion on VR/AR Technologies being used for rehabilitation purposes is this. I think that its a great idea and its amazing that its been going on some 20+ years and will continue to improve as technology develops. What I really like about it is, how well adaptable it all is depending on the patients needs. The freedom to have a clinic set up somewhere, or simply having a setup in the patients house even. Aswell as that the technology allows for fully unique scenarios depending on the patients needs. So this can help a lot if some clinics might not be able to "Physically" cater to all patients.

Check your understanding:

Throughout the chapters there are annotated bibliographies which will allow the reader to be directed to the bibliography section of the text to further read up on the sources if they wish to do so. The chapters will have snippets of text taken out of the original text as some pieces may not be completely relevant at the time or for said context.

Bibliography

Joural of Clinical Medicine. "Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Gamification, and Telerehabilitation: Psychological Impact on Orthopedic Patients’ Rehabilitation ." (2020): 13. Online PDF.

Williams, M., Alikhademi, K., Drobina, E., Gilbert, J. and Sutor, T., 2022. Augmented Reality for Rehabilitative Therapy: Patient experiences and Practitioner perspectives. [online] Sage Journals. Available at: <https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1071181319631140> [Accessed 9 March 2022].

Oculus.com. Oculus.com. 09 March 2022. Online Website. 01 March 2022.

Rua M. Williams, Kiana Alikhademi, Emma Drobina, Juan E. Gilbert, Tommy Sutor. Sage Journals. 20 November 2019. Online PDF. 01 March 2022.

Vicente-Rodriguez, Germán. Assistive Technology Innovations in Neurological Conditions. 2019. Online Webpage. 01 March 2022.

Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation volume. Virtual reality for the rehabilitation of the upper limb motor function after stroke: a prospective controlled trial. 2013. Online Webpage. 02 March 2022.

 Hvsimage.com. 2022. Rehabilitation in Virtual Reality – HVS Image. [online] Available at: <http://hvsimage.com/virtual-reality-for-rehabilitation/?gclid=CjwKCAjwloCSBhAeEiwA3hVo_SJSmSc5fuNn5PevKKBNtN8uHJp8VYfb0p9fz0kNlhwxhSthTMkKAxoCak8QAvD_BwE> [Accessed 27 March 2022].