Immersive Care - Virtual Mirror Therapy

Thomas More University of Applied Sciences

Status

Completed

Conditions

Stroke

Treatments

Device: Virtual mirror therapy via VR headset

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT04592757

IC_REHAB_01

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of this implementation study is - primarily - to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, tolerability of a new virtual reality application in stroke patients, and -secondarily - to gain initial insights in the preliminary clinical effects of this application.

Full description

Although immersive technologies have great potential in healthcare, they are still relatively unknown and underutilized in this field. In this study a new virtual reality (VR) application will be implemented and tested in two groups of stroke patients (10 acute phase/10 chronic phase). In an attempt to reactivate the affected upper limb in stroke patients, therapists often use mirror therapy. Using a mirror, the movement of a paralyzed limb is feigned in order to reprogram the brain. A patient performs exercises with the healthy limb, but through the mirror the patient seems to use the affected limb. A high number of repetitions is essential to stimulate the so-called neuroplasticity of the brain, but this makes mirror therapy monotonous. In addition, the therapy also has its limitations. Activities are limited by the physical boundaries of the modality, with exercises largely limited to distal movements and simple functional activities. Larger, free-standing mirrors provide a wider range of motion for therapeutic activities, but offer less protection against environmental distraction. With VR, these obstacles can be overcome. By focusing on virtual mirror therapy using a VR headset, therapists hope to create a more pleasant and realistic experience for the patients.

Enrollment

9 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18 to 85 years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

Stroke patients in the subacute or chronic phase, aged between 18 and 85 years old with a normal functioning upper limb on the unaffected side and a reduced use and / or weakness and / or paralysis of the upper limb on the affected side
Ability to sit on a chair or in a wheelchair with adequate trunk stability so that the unaffected upper limb can move freely
Ability to follow verbal instructions
Ability to communicate verbally with the researchers

Exclusion criteria

Stroke patients in acute phase
Severe medical conditions that interfere with the proper execution of the research
Patients who are medically unstable
Cognitive disorders which may complicate the research or make it impossible
Speaking disorders (aphasia, dysarthria) which may complicate the proper execution of the research and the communication of important verbal information
Visual disorders which complicate carrying out ADL activities or make it impossible
Known allergies to any of the materials of the VR headset
Epilepsy
Extreme sensitivity to motion sickness
Specific anxiety disorders that hinder the use of the VR headset such as claustrophobia
Skin diseases or lesions in the contact area of the VR headset