Tracking the evolution of virtual reality applications to rehabilitation as a field of study

Abstract

Background Application of virtual reality (VR) to rehabilitation is relatively recent with clinical implementation very rapidly following technological advancement and scientific discovery. Implementation is often so rapid that demonstrating intervention efficacy and establishing research priorities is more reactive than proactive. This study used analytical tools from information science to examine whether application of VR to rehabilitation has evolved as a distinct field of research or is primarily a methodology in core disciplines such as biomedical engineering, medicine and psychology. Methods The analysis was performed in three-stages: 1) a bibliographic search in the ISI Web of Science database created an initial corpus of publications, 2) the corpus was refined through topic modeling, and 3) themes dominating the corpus from the refined search results were identified by topic modeling and network analytics. This was applied separately to each of three time periods: 1996 to 2005 (418 publications), 2006 to 2014 (1454 publications), and 2015 to mid-2018 (1269 publications). Results Publication rates have continuously increased across time periods with principal topics shifting from an emphasis on computer science and psychology to rehabilitation and public health. No terminology specific to the field of VR-based rehabilitation emerged; rather a range of central concepts including “virtual reality”, “virtual gaming”, “virtual environments”, “simulated environments” continue to be used. Communities engaged in research or clinical application of VR form assemblages distinguished by a focus on physical or psychological rehabilitation; these appear to be weakly linked through tele-rehabilitation. Conclusions Varying terms exemplify the main corpus of VR-based rehabilitation and terms are not consistent across the many scientific domains. Numerous distinguishable areas of research and clinical foci (e.g., Tele-rehabilitation, Gait & Balance, Cognitive Rehabilitation, Gaming) define the agenda. We conclude that VR-based rehabilitation consists of a network of scientific communities with a shared interest in the methodology rather than a directed and focused research field. An interlinked team approach is important to maintain scientific rigor and technological validity within this diverse group. Future studies should examine how these interdisciplinary communities individually define themselves with the goals of gathering knowledge and working collectively toward disseminating information essential to associated research communities.

System Immersion in Virtual Reality-Based Rehabilitation of Motor Function in Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…When the Nintendo Wii launched in 2006, it quickly became an affordable closed system, that supported physical activity with games and entertainment, with researchers soon after applying it to physical therapy programs (Deutsch et al, 2008). This caused a shift from bespoke systems (i.e., software and hardware solutions created for specific users and contexts) toward commercially available solutions (Keshner et al, 2019). A recent systematic review exploring types of VR applications within rehabilitation, characterize these different systems dichotomously as either specific (systems specifically built for rehabilitation) or nonspecific (i.e., computerized systems meant for recreational activities and gaming) (Maier et al, 2019).…”

“…However, implementation into clinical practice has not yet been fully realized. On the other hand, VR has seen a commercial breakthrough within the last 5 years, and steadily increased the technological awareness of consumers and health professionals (Keshner et al, 2019). Within this field of rehabilitation, the therapeutic effects and value of VR technologies has been evaluated and scrutinized for over two decades, often under the general term of Virtual Rehabilitation (Burdea, 2003;Tieri et al, 2018).…”

Transfer of motor skill between virtual reality viewed using a head-mounted display and conventional screen environments

“…Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 2 Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 3…”

“…The use of virtual reality (VR) in rehabilitation has been growing exponentially over recent years [1,2]. Clinical applications of VR have been shown to be engaging and motivating [3,4] with promising results suggesting VR interventions are comparable [5] or in some cases superior [6,7] to conventional rehabilitation.…”

The Untapped Potential of Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation of Balance and Gait in Neurological Disorders

“…The essence of VR is the creation of the environment. Environments are created for many purposes ranging from industrial to entertainment and gaming to medical ( Rizzo and Kim, 2005 ; Levin et al, 2015 ; Garrett et al, 2018 ; Keshner et al, 2019 ). Environments have been developed to overlay virtual objects on the physical world (i.e., augmented reality) or to present a fully artificial digital environment (i.e., VR).…”