AR & VR application research for medical rehabilitation
Έρευνα για εφαρμογές επαυξημένης πραγματικότητας (AR) και εικονικής πραγματικότητας (VR) στην ιατρική αποκατάσταση
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Keywords
Augmented reality ; Virtual reality ; Medical rehabilitation ; Medical applications ; ARAbstract
Most domains of conventional rehabilitation programs suffer from high costs,
demand constraints, difficult to access, time consuming, and mundane repetition
that bores patients, resulting in low patient adherence to prescribed regimens. The
interest in AR and VR technologies, thus, can be primarily attributed to deal with
the limitations present in conventional rehabilitation programs, namely that such
technologies are easily accessible, easy to use, and a cost effectiveness solution in
the long run.
This paper gives an overview of the current researched techniques of AR and VR
technologies in medical rehabilitation. The overview includes a variety of medical
application domains, with patient conditions ranging from burns and injuries up to
chronic conditions such as stroke. The techniques discussed in this paper are all
recent developments, with no technique cited being from the early 2010’s. This is to
ensure that the technologies used are up-to date and representative of the most
advanced developments so far.
The techniques discussed vary in multiple ways, such as their setups, hardware,
intervention, duration, target patients to name a few. Most of the papers reviewed
con- firmed the benefits of AR and VR in medical rehabilitation, especially those of
continued patient motivation and engagement. Benefits relatedto therapy outcomes
varied depending on factors such as the illness, intervention, duration, etc. Some
reported a significant improvement in outcomes of AR and VR interventions,
whereas others reportedno significant differences inoutcome betweenconventional
approachandAR/VRfortifiedinterventions. However, it is worth noting that many
of the discussed interventions studied AR and VR usage in-addition to prescribed
ongoing conventional therapy, so the current findings can only confirm their
efficiency and effectiveness as an adjunct to conventional therapy, and not a standalone treatment.