Virtual reality based robotic therapy for stroke rehabilitation: An initial study

The stroke rate will increase as the population ages. Lots of methods on stroke rehabilitation have been developed in the world. The therapy method based on the mirror box illusion helps the limb practice after stroke. Mirror therapy could be combined to virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation to enhance its effect, using robot to realize the position and force manipulation. Robotic device provide one way to regulate the amount and intensity of movement of the plegic limb and to focus more time on more task-specific and complex functional movements. The purpose of this study is to propose a robot assistant for stroke rehabilitation by utilizing virtual reality technology and sensory feedback, to recover stroke patients with upper limb hemiplegia hemiparesis in generating motor images and gaining limb function. The aim of our work is to design, develop and test a VR-based robotic therapy system in order to help stroke patients evoking motor image and acquire motor abilities especially for forearm, hands, and feet, using the VR-Mirror.