Patients who need physiotherapy following a stroke or accident
could soon be put through their paces in a
virtual reality environment.
A researcher at the University of Portsmouth is creating a
rehabilitation programme that places patients on a treadmill and
into a
virtual world.
It works by using moving images to trick the patient's brain
into thinking he or she is walking more slowly than they are, which
in turn encourages them to walk faster and further.
Early results also suggest that patients using virtual
rehabilitation may experience less pain than traditional
physiotherapy alone.
Wendy Powell, a PhD student at the School of Creative
Technologies, has developed the software, which works in
conjunction with a specially adapted treadmill.
Clinical trials on real patients are taking place in
collaboration with experts at the renowned McGill University in
Canada, where early results are encouraging.
A former chiropractor, Wendy hopes it will pave the way for an
innovative approach to physiotherapy.
She said, "The virtual system encourages patients to walk more
quickly and for longer, almost without them realising it. We are
effectively fooling the brain and the body.
"The environment is stimulating and entertaining and there is
less fear of falling over. Our test subjects are usually surprised
when I tell them they have improved by up to 20%."
Powell hopes the system will also help older stoke patients who
often find traditional approaches to improving their speed and
distance difficult, because it relies very much on
self-motivation.
She said, "After a stroke or fall many older people lack
motivation and confidence and they do not feel steady on their
feet, so getting out and about can be an issue and they can find
the whole process rather dull."
Wendy's system uses a variety of different images from urban
landscapes to forest and mountain scenes. She has built a system of
rewards into some of the programmes, which encourages the patient
to pick up objects and collect points.
She said that older people were not put off by the "computer
game element" and seemed to enjoy it.