Virtual reality in rehabilitation of spinal cord injuries: A case report

Advances in information technology offer new opportunities for rehabilitati on. In particular, the immersion capability provided by a synthetic environ ment could be exploited to design novel assistive devices. In virtual reali ty (VR), users navigate and interact with 3-D, computer-generated environme nts that are highly flexible and programmable, enabling the therapist to pr esent a variety of controlled stimuli and to measure and monitor responses. VR provides a powerful means of increasing levels of environmental interac tion in a highly controlled and structured manner. In this article, an over view is given of the design issues of a VR-enhanced orthopedic appliance us ed in rehabilitation of a person with spinal cord injury.