In-Home Virtual Reality Videogame Telerehabilitation in Adolescents With Hemiplegic Cerebral Palsy
By Golomb, Meredith R.; McDonald, Brenna C.; Warden, Stuart J.; Yonkman, Janell; Saykin, Andrew J.; Shirley, Bridget; Huber, Meghan; Rabin, Bryan; AbdelBaky, Moustafa; Nwosu, Michelle E.; Barkat-Masih, Monica; Burdea, Grigore C.; Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 91, No. 1, pp. 1-8Publication Date: January 2010
Study explored in-home remotely monitored virtual reality (VR) videogame telerehabilitation using a sensing glove fitted to the plegic hand for improving hand function and forearm bone health in adolescents with hemiplegic cerebral palsy. The 3-month proof-of-concept pilot study included 1 female and 2 male participants aged 13 to 15 years with severe right hemiplegic cerebral palsy. A videogame system that included a 5DT 5 Ultra Glove and a PlayStation3 game console was installed in each participant’s home and networked with the collaborating engineering school and children’s hospital. Participants were asked to exercise the plegic hand 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week using the sensor glove fitted to the plegic hand and attached to the remotely monitored videogame console. Games were custom developed, focused on finger movement, and included a screen avatar of the hand. Post intervention, all participants showed improved function of the plegic hand on occupational therapy testing, including increased ability to lift objects, and improved finger range of motion based on remote measurements. The two adolescents who were most compliant showed improvements in radial bone mineral content and area in the plegic arm. For all participants, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a grip task contrasting the plegic and nonplegic hand showed expanded spatial extent of activation at post treatment relative to baseline in brain motor circuitry. The authors conclude that in-home VR videogame rehabilitation may improve hand function and forearm bone health in adolescents with hemiplegic cerebral palsy, and be accompanied by functional brain changes as demonstrated with fMRI.
Published by: W.B. Saunders Company, a division of Elsevier Health Sciences (Website:http://us.elsevierhealth.com)
American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Web Site: http://www.aapmr.org/ )
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (Web Site: http://www.acrm.org )
Link to text: http://www.archives-pmr.org/article/PIIS000399930900817X/fulltext
This publication is included in the library of the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC), accession number J58108
