Wearable virtual reality tool for balance training: the design and validation on healthy

Abstract

Balance disabilities affect the human quality of life. Current directions for balance rehabilitation require the inclusion of virtual reality (VR) tools as a complementary robotic tool to conventional physical therapies to accelerate balance recovery. This works aims to present the design and validation on healthy of a wearable and fully immersive VR-based tool following a user-centred design. This wearable VR tool comprises four Activities of Daily Living-based virtual challenges including nine motor tasks, chosen according to those most performed in the literature, as well as in the tasks of the Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) clinical tests. This system comprises wearable VR technology, providing multimodal feedback (visual, sonorous, and vibrotactile cues), and integrates wearable inertial sensors for real-time motor assessment. The system’s operability was validated with six healthy subjects executing BBS and TUG related motor tasks to assess balance performance after and before two training trials for each virtual challenge. The results showed statistically significant improvements regarding COM’ displacement and velocity during “Cooking” and “Watch Tv” games and after VR training. The VR-based tool was rated with high IPQ and IMI scores. This wearable VR-based tool has the potential to effectively improve balance and walking, and to effectively increase the user’s active participation and enthusiasm during balance training; thus, contributing to accelerate the user’s balance and motor recovery.