Proof of Concept: VR Rehabilitation Game for People with Shoulder Disorders

<p> <p id="x-x-x-Par1"> Shoulder pain is very common in adult population (16%&ndash;26%) and it has several impacts on the Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). In this context, an effective rehabilitation is needed to assist the patients to regain autonomy and improve ADLs. <p id="x-x-x-Par2"> An alternative approach to monotonous traditional rehabilitation can be offered by Virtual Reality (VR) technology and video game console systems. <p id="x-x-x-Par3"> In this paper, we present a proof of concept of a computer game for shoulder rehabilitation. The system consists in a VR application developed with the Unity game engine, and it is currently controlled via mouse interactions; however, the software application has been designed for the Nintendo Wii Remote MotionPlus as the main game controller, but this tool will be integrated in the next development phase. <p id="x-x-x-Par4"> Our goal is to develop a rehabilitation game: suitable to be used both at home and at a hospital, highly motivating for the patient, and requiring low-cost technology (e.g. a consumer-grade tracking system). <p id="x-x-x-Par5"> The game has been tested preliminary with three healthy subjects who agreed that the application is engaging, motivating and intuitive. </p> </p> </p> </p> </p></p>