Advanced technology developed to assist patients with physiotherapy at home

Recent studies, conducted by the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG) at the University of Warwick, reveal that virtual reality (VR) can enhance physiotherapy at home.

Currently, patients who are required to conduct physiotherapy at home rely on drawings and photos to help them execute the exercise, which can lead to uncertainty and frustration. However, the-state-of-the-art technology tackles this by enabling patients to execute the exercises correctly, by providing supervision and support.

In the study, patients were required to wear a VR headset and synchronise with the VR figure. Throughout the study, the actions of the figure were discreetly hastened and slowed down, to analyse the impact this had on the patients. The study was posted in the PLOS ONE journal.
Researchers believe that by implementing challenges or games into the VR, it will further develop the patient’s interest.

Lead author of the study from WMG, University of Warwick, Omar Khan, stated: “If participants were observed to correct their own stepping to stay in time with the avatar, we knew they were able to accurately follow the movements they were observing. We found that participants struggled to keep in time if only visual information was present. However, when we added realistic footstep sounds in addition to the visual information the more realistic multisensory information allowed participants to accurately follow the avatar.”

Director of WMG’s Institute of Digital Healthcare and co-author, Professor. Theo Arvanitis, stated: “Our work and digitally-enabled technological solution can underpin transformative health innovations to impact the field of physiotherapy, and have a direct benefit to patient’s rehabilitation. We now plan to investigate other types of movements working closely in partnership with physiotherapists, to establish the areas of physiotherapy that will benefit most from this technology.”