Musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, stroke Not Applicable Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue, Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction
Conditions
Interventions
This is a project to explore how people with musculoskeletal injuries and stroke might use commercial virtual reality games to explore developing and assessing skills
and also how a controller for these virtual reality games should be designed so that people with musculoskeletal disorders and stroke can use them to control their movements and interactions within th
Sponsors
Saint James Hospital Malta
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: 1. Adults with musculoskeletal disorders or injuries, and adults with stroke 2. Self-identified through communications from the project, or contacted because they have been involved in previous work with the research team 3. Suffering from pain and inhibited function of the upper limbs: fingers and/or hand and/or wrist and/or arm 4. Aged 18 years and over
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: All participants that do not fall within all eligibility criteria as mentioned above, such as people with any history of epilepsy (especially the photosensitive type), psychiatric or cardiomyopathic issues will be automatically excluded from participating in the study. This is because they might suffer from fits, fatigue, disorientation, agitation with the use of VR set/environment.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Measured at baseline: 1. Whether participants with MSI and stroke can access off-the-shelf VR systems and games: assessment of comfort, accessibility and usability of the off the shelf controllers and games, enjoyment of the gameplay, captured through observation during the session and the responses to the semi-structured interview 2. Embodiment: the degree to which a person feels “ownership” of the virtual representation of their body in VR. From the first-person perspective, this is mostly restricted to the representation of their arms and hands. This is measured by using a variation of a standard embodiment questionnaire 3. Presence: the degree to which a person feels, acts and behaves as if the simulated environment is real. This is measured by using a variation of a standard presence questionnaire 4. Feasibility and acceptability of co-piloting and preliminary quantitative and qualitative data on efficacy and enjoyment of co-piloting with patients with MSI and stroke. This is measured through game metrics derived from the screen recording, analysis of tracking data from the VR system, and patient responses to adapted versions of standardised questionnaires (User Experience Questionnaire -Short (UEQ-S), Networked Minds Measure of Social Presence) 5. Participants' arms and hands measured using photos and video 6. Handgrip strength and pinch strength measured using standard analogue manual dynamometers 7. Forces while interacting with controllers measured using thin force sensors 8. The shape of participants' arms and hands measured with a hand-held 3D scanner | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Measured at baseline: 1. Suitable values for VR session length and the number of sessions assessed through observation during the session and through the responses to the semi-structured interview 2. Incidence of adverse events including Incidence and avoidance of simulator sickness, assessed through observation during the session and through the responses to the semi-structured interview 3. Therapist time and session frequency required to assist a user with real-time VR therapy sessions, assessed through observation during the session and through the responses to the semi-structured interview 4. Technical problems might arise when VR technology is used in a clinical setting, assessed through observation during the session and through the responses to the semi-structured interview | — |
Countries
Cyprus, Malta
Outcome results
None listed