VR may improve motor skills in damaged limbs

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Summary:

New research suggests that a combination of traditional physical therapy and technology may improve the motor skills and mobility of an impaired hand by having its healthy partner hand lead by example through virtual reality training.

A new research led by Tel Aviv University suggests that a combination of Traditional physical therapy and technology may improve motor skills and mobility of an impaired hand by having its more mobile partner hand as a lead in virtual reality training.

The motive behind the study:

“Patients suffering from hemiparesis — the weakness or paralysis of one of two paired limbs — undergo physical therapy, but this therapy is challenging, exhausting, and usually has a fairly limited effect,” said lead investigator Prof. Roy Mukamel of TAU’s School of Psychological Sciences and Sagol School of Neuroscience, who conducted the research with his student Ori Ossmy. “Our results suggest that training with a healthy hand through a virtual reality intervention provides a promising way to repair mobility and motor skills in an impaired limb.” The research was published in Cell Reports.

Does the left hand know what the right hand is doing?

53 healthy participants completed baseline tests to assess the motor skills of their hands, then strapped on virtual reality headsets that showed simulated versions of their hands. The virtual reality technology, however, presented the participants with a “mirror image” of their hands — when they moved their real right hand, their virtual left hand would move.

In the 1st experiment, participants completed a series of finger movements with their right hands while the screen showed their virtual left hands moving instead. In the 2nd experiment, motorized gloves were placed on their left hand and when they moved their fingers of right hand, the screen showed virtual left hand moving.

This research team found that this made them use their left hands more efficiently after the exercise. But the most notable improvements occurred when the virtual reality screen showed the left hand moving while the motorized glove moved the hand.

Tricking the brain:

“We effectively tricked the brain,” said Prof. Mukamel.

“Technologically, these experiments were a big challenge,” Prof. Mukamel continued. “We manipulated what people saw and combined it with the passive, mechanical movement of the hand to show that our left hand can learn even when it is not moving under voluntary control.”

The researchers are optimistic that this could be applied in patients with physical therapy programs who have lost strength or control of one hand. The are also examining the applicability of their novel VR training scheme to stroke patients.