%0 Journal Article %1 winter2021immersive %A Winter, Carla %A Kern, Florian %A Gall, Dominik %A Latoschik, Marc Erich %A Pauli, Paul %A Käthner, Ivo %D 2021 %J Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation %K homecoming myown %N 68 %R https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-021-00848-w %T Immersive virtual reality during gait rehabilitation increases walking speed and motivation: A usability evaluation with healthy participants and patients with multiple sclerosis and stroke %U https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12984-021-00848-w %V 18 %X Background. The rehabilitation of gait disorders in multiple sclerosis (MS) and stroke patients is often based on conventional treadmill training. Virtual reality (VR)-based treadmill training can increase motivation and improve therapy outcomes. Objective. The present study aimed at (1) demonstrating the feasibility and acceptance of an immersive virtual reality application (presented via head-mounted display, HMD) for gait rehabilitation with patients, and (2) compare its effects to a semi-immersive presentation (via a monitor) and a conventional treadmill training without VR. Methods and results. 36 healthy participants and 14 persons with MS or stroke participated in each of the three experimental conditions. For both groups, the walking speed in the HMD condition was higher than in treadmill training without VR. Healthy participants reported a higher motivation after the HMD condition as compared with the other conditions. Importantly, no side effects in the sense of simulator sickness occurred and usability ratings were high. Most of the healthy study participants (89 %) and patients (71 %) preferred the HMD-based training among the three conditions and most patients could imagine using it more frequently. Conclusion. The study demonstrated the feasibility of combining a treadmill training with immersive VR. Due to its high usability and low side effects, the immersive system could serve as a valid alternative to conventional treadmill training in gait rehabilitation. It might be particularly suited for patients to improve training motivation and training outcome e. g. the walking speed compared with treadmill training using no or only semi-immersive VR.

@article{winter2021immersive, abstract = {Background. The rehabilitation of gait disorders in multiple sclerosis (MS) and stroke patients is often based on conventional treadmill training. Virtual reality (VR)-based treadmill training can increase motivation and improve therapy outcomes. Objective. The present study aimed at (1) demonstrating the feasibility and acceptance of an immersive virtual reality application (presented via head-mounted display, HMD) for gait rehabilitation with patients, and (2) compare its effects to a semi-immersive presentation (via a monitor) and a conventional treadmill training without VR. Methods and results. 36 healthy participants and 14 persons with MS or stroke participated in each of the three experimental conditions. For both groups, the walking speed in the HMD condition was higher than in treadmill training without VR. Healthy participants reported a higher motivation after the HMD condition as compared with the other conditions. Importantly, no side effects in the sense of simulator sickness occurred and usability ratings were high. Most of the healthy study participants (89 %) and patients (71 %) preferred the HMD-based training among the three conditions and most patients could imagine using it more frequently. Conclusion. The study demonstrated the feasibility of combining a treadmill training with immersive VR. Due to its high usability and low side effects, the immersive system could serve as a valid alternative to conventional treadmill training in gait rehabilitation. It might be particularly suited for patients to improve training motivation and training outcome e. g. the walking speed compared with treadmill training using no or only semi-immersive VR. }, added-at = {2021-03-14T17:43:03.000+0100}, author = {Winter, Carla and Kern, Florian and Gall, Dominik and Latoschik, Marc Erich and Pauli, Paul and Käthner, Ivo}, biburl = {https://www.bibsonomy.org/bibtex/268cd9fc7ed80f06c978941c4e154168f/hci-uwb}, doi = {https://doi.org/10.1186/s12984-021-00848-w}, interhash = {a92c760b1f0b40cb27f9aec17c6c26ae}, intrahash = {68cd9fc7ed80f06c978941c4e154168f}, journal = {Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation}, keywords = {homecoming myown}, number = 68, timestamp = {2021-06-07T12:13:15.000+0200}, title = {Immersive virtual reality during gait rehabilitation increases walking speed and motivation: A usability evaluation with healthy participants and patients with multiple sclerosis and stroke}, url = {https://jneuroengrehab.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12984-021-00848-w}, volume = 18, year = 2021 }