Integrating an Assistive Soft Robotic Glove with an Immersive Virtual Reality Hand Rehabilitation Game

Abstract

Virtual reality is becoming a valuable tool in physical rehabilitation as it has been shown to increase patient motivation for completing mundane and repetitive exercises that are required to achieve functional recovery. While this concept is already being explored for rehabilitation of many parts of the body, there remains a gap in applying this type of therapy to treating the hands of people with limited mobility such as individuals with neurological disorders. To take the first step in reaching this underserved population, we have integrated our proprietary assistive soft robotic glove technology with an immersive virtual reality game to demonstrate the feasibility of interaction between the two for assistive motion while gaming and tracking motions. For this work, a preliminary game was developed that has real-time motion control of a virtual hand to enhance immersion, trains the user to perform flexion and extension hand exercises, and has the capability to automatically assist the user as needed by communicating with a soft robotic glove.