A study of upper extremity training for patients with stroke using a virtual environment system

[Purpose] A virtual environment (VE) system was designed to facilitate the retraining of motor control by feedback of movement trajectory to patients with neurological impairments, such as stroke victims or those with an acquired brain injury. In this study, we quantitatively assessed motion trajectory of the upper extremity during VE in order to further understand the effect of paralyzed upper extremity movement in VE for each patient as well as the functional clinical evaluations. [Subjects and Methods] Six patients with stroke were participated in this study. The VE system consisted of a computer, an electromagnetic motion tracking device, which monitored and displayed patient movement on the computer, and the VE software, which provided the tools for creating training scenes. This system was used to facilitate motor relearning of the upper extremity for six patients with stroke. [Results] The results showed there were improvements in variability and accuracy of the arm movement in motion trajectory. In addition, the scores of clinical evaluations improved, and VE did not hinder motor relearning of the upper extremity, which is necessary for activities of daily living. [Conclusion] This VE system might be effective at facilitating motor relearning of the upper extremity for stroke patients.