BALANCE TRAINING IN AN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT FOR LOWER EXTREMITY EXERCISE AND REHABILITATION
| Author(s) | Segear, Sydney | |
| Date Accessioned | 2024-06-12T17:28:53Z | |
| Date Available | 2024-06-12T17:28:53Z | |
| Publication Date | 2024-05 | |
| Abstract | Balance training is essential for physical rehabilitation procedures, as it can improve functional mobility and enhance cognitive coordination. However, conventional balance training methods may have limitations in terms of motivation, real-time objective feedback, and personalization, which a virtual reality (VR) setup may better provide. This work presents an immersive VR training environment for lower extremity balance rehabilitation with real-time guidance and feedback. The VR training environment immerses the user in a 3D ice rink model where a virtual coach (agent) leads them through a series of balance poses, and the user controls a trainee avatar with their own movements. The application includes two coaching styles: positive-reinforcement and autonomous-supportive, and two viewpoints of the trainee avatar: first-person and third-person. We evaluated the proposed environment in a user study with healthy, non-clinical participants (n=16, 24.4 +- 5.7 years old, 9 females). The results show that participants exhibited stronger performance in the positive-reinforcement style compared to the autonomous-supportive style. Additionally, in the third-person viewpoint, the participants exhibited more stability in the positive-reinforcement style compared to the autonomous-supportive style. For viewpoint, participants exhibited stronger performance in the first-person viewpoint compared to third-person in the autonomous-supportive style, while they were comparable in the positive-reinforcement style. There were no significant effects on the foot height and number of mistakes. Furthermore, we report the analysis of user performance with balance training poses, as well as subjective measures based on questionnaires to assess the user experience, usability, and task load. The proposed VR balance training could offer an interactive, adaptive, and engaging environment and open new potential research directions for lower extremity rehabilitation. We also take steps towards a future direction of this work by modifying the system for clinical use, sharing the system with an expert in biomechanics and older adults with balance impairments, and receiving their qualitative feedback to initiate the process of a formal clinical study. | |
| Advisor | enter | |
| Program | enter | |
| URL | https://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/34494 | |
| Language | en_US | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | |
| Title | BALANCE TRAINING IN AN IMMERSIVE VIRTUAL REALITY ENVIRONMENT FOR LOWER EXTREMITY EXERCISE AND REHABILITATION | |
| Type | Thesis |