Virtual Reality Prosthetic Training and Rehabilitation

Amputation of Upper Limb

The proposed project is to develop an effective prosthetic training and rehabilitation regimen, with the use of virtual reality, to return patients to the highest level of independence and functioning possible. The Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN) system (Motek Medical, Netherlands) will be used to immerse patients into real life situations while providing real time visual feedback of their motion to improve the training and rehabilitation of upper limb prosthetic users.

The subjects will be asked to participate in two 1-2 hour sessions to test the range of motion (ROM), activities of daily living ( ADL) and return to duty tasks (RTD) tasks with and without the use of virtual reality. All amputee subjects will be required to wear their same preferred prosthetic device for all sessions. The ROM tasks include, elbow flexion/extension, forearm pronation/supination, shoulder flexion/extension, shoulder abduction/adduction, shoulder rotation, torso flexion/extension, torso lateral flexion, and torso rotation. The ADL tasks would include a series of tasks to encompass typical actives one would encounter on a daily basis such as, drinking from a cup, bilateral and unilateral lift tasks, and a reach and grasp test. The RTD tasks would include a series of simple tasks service members typically perform in their daily work routine such as donning and doffing a jacket and helmet, packing and unpacking a rucksack, and carrying a weapon. The subjects will be asked to complete each task three times. Prior to performing a task, when participating in the virtual reality session, the task will be demonstrated on the virtual screen with an animated model. The motion of the animated model will be determined by previously collected data to accurately predict the correct motion for each individual. An avatar of the subject will then be shown on the screen to display the real time motion. The reflective markers that were strategically placed on the subject will be connected to the corresponding joint on the virtual avatar to accurately animate the real time motion of the subject on the virtual screen. The demonstrated model will be shown simultaneously with the real time avatar to show the accuracy of the subject's performance in relation to the individualized predicted optimized motion. This will provide instant visual feedback to the subject.

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