Authors (including presenting author) :
Leung SF (1), Chung HYC (1), So MS (1)
Affiliation :
(1)Physiotherapy Department, United Christian Hospital
Introduction :
Virtual Reality (VR) is a novel technology for medical rehabilitation. Physical training through VR as preparation prior to real-life training would be helpful for patients particularly elders in restoration of functional skill and reducing fall; muscle strengthening, enhancement of vestibular function, improvement of eye-limb coordination, betterment of agility and perceptual adaption are the key benefits. Current devices for VR rehabilitation are lacking of portability, expensive and difficult to setup. Making use of available technology with a relatively low cost, Physiotherapy Department of United Christian Hospital developed a handy VR system to train community dwelling elderly in using escalators and pedestrian crosswalk which are the blackspots for fall in community.
Objectives :
Making use of a Do-It-Yourself portable VR system to deliver functional training including using escalator and pedestrian crosswalk to community dwellers.
Methodology :
The portable VR system consists of 3 components - Mini Projector (280g), Foldable Tripod (850g) and Smartphone (188g). Moving escalator and pedestrian crosswalk with traffic light as outdoor public facilities were captured and stored in the smartphone as training videos. Through the mini projector which was mounted on the tripod, the video was projected onto floor or wall for the corresponding functional training. For using escalator, patient was instructed to step onto and out of the escalator image, and the performance could be assured or even raised by playing the video at various speeds.
Result & Outcome :
The VR set is a light weight portable system (additional 1130g excluding the smartphone) with relatively low cost (approximately $3500 for the projector and tripod). Training videos are free of charge which can be tailor-made through capturing specific real life scenarios in accordance with patient’s need. This handy system was well accepted by Physiotherapists for outreach service who would comfortably bring this handy system to patient’s home for functional training when necessary. Very often, this system was exceptionally good for assessment particularly patient’s readiness in returning home and re-integrating into community. Since October 2019, department has employed this system in 5 cases and 100% patients have successfully resumed their premorbid community mobility.
