Futures for Virtual Reality in Cerebral Palsy Management

Review

Role of Virtual Reality for Cerebral Palsy Management

Weiss, P. T., Tirosh, E. & Fehlings, D.
Journal of Child Neurology, 2014, 29(8): 1119 – 1124

Link to abstract: www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24799367

Virtual reality can occupy a unique space in rehabilitation when designed by therapists as it can provide a motivating yet challenging place to learn transferrable skills and to capture performance feedback.

Objective: This article overviews several topics: virtual reality and clinical gaming for the population of children with cerebral palsy, key studies that identify different components of virtual reality systems as children with cerebral palsy interact with them, and aspects of virtual reality interaction beyond the enjoyable and motivating aspects of gameplay to measuring deeper emotional and psychological characteristics like autonomic responses to gaming.

"Virtual reality for rehabilitation has become more accessible and less expensive and more popular for clinicians… who want to take advantage of virtual reality’s assets for rehabilitation while ensuring that it is best suited to the client’s cognitive, motor and emotional abilities in the context of specific therapeutic goals". "Available data suggest exciting prospects for the use of virtual reality in the rehabilitation of children with physical disabilities."

VR Rehab Reviewed

Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Review article

Gunel, M. K., Kara, K. O., Ozal, C. & Turker, D. (2014) In E. Svraka (Ed) Cerebral Palsy - Challenges for the Future (pp. 273-301). InTech: DOI: 10.5772/56981 Creative Commons BY 3.0 license

Link to full text: dx.doi.org/10.5772/57486

Chapter 9, Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy, is found within the book Cerebral Palsy - Challenges for the Future, published as an open source volume by InTech. The book develops the following ideas… "lifelong re/habilitation (habilitation and rehabilitation) in persons with cerebral palsy is the first part of this book which has four chapters about management in children and adults with cerebral palsy through the life span, providing evidence-based and family-centered support and services. Three chapters of the second part are exploring the new therapy options which could improve the family quality of life. Third part has two chapters about complementary therapies with new possibilities for the future."

The chapter on virtual reality therapy begins with an ICF perspective. In CP treatment, VR (re)habilitation modalities are identified separately as ‘evidence-based and clinical’ applications. The authors provide an extensive review of CP rehabilitation from the ICF perspective, and connect to a history of VR. They consider the theoretical base of VR therapy and include a neurology lesson and a review of virtual reality systems used in pediatric rehabilitation (immersive or desktop). A classification of VR systems for rehabilitation from (Galvin and Levac) is provided. The chapter finishes with a review of VR studies relating to upper extremity, lower extremity, postural control, fitness and other topics.

Reference
Galvin, J. and Levac, D. (2011). Faciliating clinical decision-making about the use of virtual reality within paediatric motor rehabilitation: describing and classifying virtual reality systems. Developmental neurorehabilitation, 2011:14 (2):112-22