Functional improvement of hemiparetic upper limb after a virtual reality-based intervention with a tabletop system and tangible objects

摘要

Rehabilitation of the hemiparetic upper limb after stroke is a common challenge for neurorehabilitation units. Recent advances in behavioural neuroscience and neuroimaging techniques have provided current insights of brain plasticity mechanisms that support the functional improvement after an injury to the brain. Different interventions have provided evidence of improvement associated to cortical reorganization. Initial studies report the benefits of virtual reality interventions to recreate enriched and controlled environments that promote brain plasticity mechanisms. This paper presents a novel virtual reality-based tabletop system that focuses on the motor learning principles to promote functional improvement of the hemiparetic upper limb in chronic individuals with stroke. The system allows users to perform a set of exercises that train different movements and skills interacting with or without tangible objects. A preliminary study to determine the clinical effectiveness and acceptance of a virtual reality-based intervention is provided.