Kinematic Metrics Based on the Virtual Reality System Toyra as an Assessment of the Upper Limb Rehabilitation in People with Spinal Cord Injury

BioMed Research International, 2014 · DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/904985 · Published: April 23, 2014

Spinal Cord Injury Assistive Technology Rehabilitation

Simple Explanation

This study explores the use of virtual reality (VR) to assess and improve upper limb rehabilitation for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). The VR system Toyra was employed to track the movements of patients as they performed various tasks. The study found correlations between clinical assessments and kinematic data recorded by the VR system, suggesting that VR can provide objective measures of upper limb function. New metrics were defined to quantify reaching amplitude, joint amplitude, agility, accuracy, and repeatability, which could offer additional information to clinicians for physical assessment.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

15 patients with cervical spinal cord injury

Evidence Level

Not specified

Key Findings

1
Positive correlations were found between clinical scales and kinematic data, particularly with subscales closely related to upper limb function.
2
Strong positive correlation was found between the metric joint amplitude and the self-care SCIM (r = 0.797, P = 0.000375) and between this metric and the subscale UL MI AbdShoulder (r = 0.861, P = 0.00003).
3
Reaching amplitude along the Z-axis shows moderate correlations with four of the clinical scores or subscores (UL MI global, UL MI Abdshoulder, UL MI Flexelbow, and self-care FIM scale).

Research Summary

This study investigated the use of the Toyra virtual reality system to assess upper limb rehabilitation in patients with spinal cord injury. Kinematic data was recorded during evaluation sessions, and correlations with clinical scales were analyzed. New kinematic metrics were defined, including joint amplitude, reaching amplitude, accuracy, agility, and repeatability, to provide additional information to clinicians. These metrics were then correlated with clinical scales. The results showed significant correlations between kinematic data, newly defined metrics, and clinical scales, suggesting that VR systems can be valuable tools for objective assessment and rehabilitation monitoring in SCI patients.

Practical Implications

Objective Assessment Tool

VR systems can be used as objective assessment tools to complement clinical scales, providing a more detailed analysis of a patient's physical state.

Treatment Design

The correlations found between kinematic variables and clinical scales can inform the design of targeted treatments to improve specific joint movements and functional abilities.

Predictive Models

Kinematic data can be used to develop predictive models that estimate clinical scale scores, allowing clinicians to track patient progression and adjust treatment plans accordingly.

Study Limitations

1
The different number of patients in each group of injury.
2
The need to increase the number of patients in future researches.
3
The study primarily used analytical movements rather than functional tasks in VR environments.

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