11 - Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation

Question 1

Objectives of VR

Answer 1

• practical training setting
• – quasi realistic tasks
• – indvdl, gradual adjustments
• – context-specific, intuitive
• – variety
• improve feedback and assessment
• – inform patient
• – msrd scores
• stronger neurophysiological effects
• – brain stim
• – cognitive challenge
• – motivation
• for physiotherapy and psychotherapy

Question 2

VR and virtual envt def

Answer 2

• VR = advanced form of human-computer interface that allows the user to interact and become immersed in a computer-generated envt in a realistic fashion
• virtual envt (in rehab°) = envt created to assess and rehabilitate cognitive and functional abilities thru exposre to simulated ‘real-world’ or analog tasks

Question 3

Display variety

Answer 3

visual, acoustic, olfactory, tactile, haptic/kinesthetic

Question 4

Visual and haptic cues

Answer 4

• static monocular cues = retinal info
• dynamic monocular cues = movt
• – motion parallax (dist => movt speed)
• – kinetic depth effects (motion of 2D patterns)
• binocular cues
• – stereopsis = binocular dispartity
• oculomotor cues
• – accomodation (lens shape adapts to depth)
• – convergence (inward movt to close-by obj)

Question 5

VR display

Answer 5

• HMD = head-mounted display = 2 separate img + inertial head tracking sensors
• depth cues of 2D displays not needed
• projections = isometric / perspective / oblique

Question 6

Motivation def

Answer 6

• forces acting on or w/i a person to initiate a behavior
• extrinsinc / intrinsic
• direction & intensity of one’s effort
• need: participation willingness (=engagement) + active participation
• games: inc lg term participation + short-term engagement

Question 7

Emotions, valence, arousal

Answer 7

• emotion = psychological state that arises spontaneously rather than thru conscious effort and is sometimes accompanied by physiological changes
• arousal = emotional activation ranging from very excited/energized to very calm/sleepy
• valence = hedonic qlty or pleasantness of an effective xp ranging from unpleasant to pleasant
• arousal / valence space + physical effort

Question 8

Optimizing engagement

Answer 8

• Yerkes-Dodson’s law
• – inc physical/mental arousal => inc perf
• – arousal too high => dec perf
• The Flow Concept = oscillation + linear augmentation of challenge vs/ skill
• The Challenge Point Framework => optimal challenge b/ performance, learning potential and task difficulty
• modulate engagement with
• – biomechcl stimuli
• – audiovisual features
• – task difficulty
• state estimator and adapt VR training to optimize engagement with desired cognitive load