• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.28 no.3
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• pp.11-29
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• 2021

Background: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of virtual reality on gait, balance, and upper extremity functions compared to other independent variables or no variables. Additionally, the possibility of virtual reality for stroke patients was discussed. Design: Meta-analysis. Methods: The search for this study was a search term that combined stroke, virtual reality, and training, and the electronic search was conducted through EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Cochrane Library. As a result of the search, 21 studies satisfying the selection criteria of the target study were confirmed as the final analysis target. This study consisted of 21 randomized experimental studies and 21 randomized controlled trials, and the total number of participants was 642. [Experimental group (n=314), control group (n=328); total 642]. As a result of the study, upper extremity function was assessed using a box and block test, a modified Ashworth scale, and a scale including range of motion. The balance was evaluated by the berg balance scale. Gait was a Timed Up and Go test (TUG), stride length, and gait function. Scales including a walking rate scale were evaluated. The effect size for the intervention of the analytical study was meta-analyzed with the RevMan 5.3.3 program of the Cochrane library. Results: The results of the study showed that the function of walking was statistically significant. Balance showed statistically significant results. The upper extremity function showed no statistically significant results. Conclusion: Through this rehabilitation treatment by applying virtual reality environment to the rehabilitation of stroke patients in the future can be proposed as an effective intervention method for the balance and gait function of stroke patients.

• The Journal of Korean society of community based occupational therapy
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• v.2 no.2
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• pp.25-35
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• 2012

Objective : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of virtual reality program on fall efficacy and activities of daily living(ADL) for patients with stroke. Method : Twenty stroke patients were participated voluntarily and were assigned randomly into the control and the experimental groups. Both control and experimental groups were given same basic rehabilitation treatment while only the experimental group was given virtual reality program. The fall efficacy of both groups was assessed using fall efficacy scale(FES) and ADL performance ability was assessed by functional independence measure(FIM). Result : Fall efficacy and ADL performance ability showed a statistically meaningful difference for both experimental and control groups(p< .05), the fall efficacy and ADL performance ability of the experimental group improved meaningfully in a statistical way than that of the control group(p<. 05). Conclusion : It was found that carrying out virtual reality program with occupational therapy has an effect on fall efficacy and ADL performance ability of patients with stroke. Therefore, virtual reality program can be a way of treatment for patients with stroke to improve their fall efficacy and ADL performance ability, and the program can also be applied in clinics as well as occupational therapy.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.1-12
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• 2022

Since the early 20th century, along with the interest and development of alternative psychotherapy, the field of art therapy has also been developed and expanded. In particular, the recent development of technology and the untact era brought about by the COVID-19 Pandemic is accelerating the development of new digital art therapy contents. Among them, the hot interest in virtual reality is raising expectations and questions about the effectiveness of psychotherapy given by new media beyond traditional art therapy. In this study, the characteristics of VRAT (Virtual Reality Art Therapy) content therapeutic factors were investigated through qualitative literature analysis based on the conceptual framework and therapeutic components of ETC (Expressive Therapies Continumm), an integrated art therapy theory. As a result of the study, VRAT contents showed mostly therapeutic factors in the left hemisphere that triggered the user's dynamic, perceptual, and cognitive factors, and the therapeutic factors in the right hemisphere, which focused on sensory, emotional, and symbolic factors, were relatively few. The reason seems to be due to the nature of the experimental stage, the absence of active intervention by the therapist and long-term session composition, and the fear, clumsiness, and unfamiliarity of users about VRAT in addition to the characteristics and technical limitations of the VRAT medium. The limitations of the study include the small number of documents to be analyzed and the insufficient form of current VRAT to be called art therapy. It is expected that the characteristics of the therapeutic factors of VRAT content media and environment derived as a result of this study will be usefully used for the appropriate development of VRAT content in the future.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.24 no.3
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• pp.1-11
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• 2017

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of virtual reality based treadmill training on muscle architecture of gastrocnemius in chronic stroke patients. Methods: Thirty chronic stroke patients were randomly assigned to either the virtual reality based treadmill training (VRTT) group (n=15) or treadmill training (TT) group (n=15). Both groups participated in a standard rehabilitation program; in addition, the VRTT group participated in virtual reality based treadmill training for 30 minutes per day, three times per week, for 6 weeks, and TT group participated in treadmill walking training for 30 minutes per day, three times per week, for 6 weeks. Ultrasound image was used for measurement of pennation angle and muscle thickness of the medial gastrocnemius muscle at rest and during maximum voluntary contraction. Results: In the paretic side medial gastrocnemius muscle, greater improvement on the pennation angle and muscle thickness while resting and maximal voluntary contraction were observed in the VRTT group compared with the TT group. Conclusion: Findings of this study demonstrated that the virtual reality based treadmill training has an effect on muscle architecture of medial gastrocnemius in chronic stroke patients.

• 재활복지
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.209-224
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• 2018

The purpose of this study is to provide a basic data about the virtual reality rehabilitation therapy to the occupational therapist in the domestic clinical field by systematically analyzing the types and effects of the rehabilitation therapy using the virtual reality program. Research articles were retrieved from January 2007 to December 2017 using the Research Information Sharing Service (RISS), Google Scholar, and Pubmed database. The main search terms were 'Virtual Reality AND Rehabilitation' and 'Virtual reality AND Effect'. Finally, 10 foreign studies were selected as the subjects of this study. Selected studies were organized using PICO (Patient, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome) format. The results were as follows: The subjects were divided into 4 types, stroke, brain tumor, Parkinson 's disease, and kidney disease. The tools used for arbitration were three IREX (30 %), two X-box Kinect (20 %), two Nintendo Wii (20 %), one [Existing tool + VR] (10 %), one [Mobile application + VR] (10 %). As a result of the intervention, improvement of function was observed in all 10 studies from overseas, and physical function was 24 times (66 %), mental function 6 times (17 %), cognitive function 5 times (14 %), Activity of daily living 1 time (10 %). this study could be used as a basic resource to enhance the professionalism and quality of rehabilitation services and expand the scope by organizing virtual reality-based rehabilitation and its effects.

• Physical Therapy Rehabilitation Science
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.33-39
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• 2012

Objective: The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of treadmill training with real optic flow scene on functional recovery of balance and balance self-efficacy in stroke patients. Design: Single blind, Randomized controlled trial. Methods: Nine patients following stroke were divided randomly into the treadmill with optic flow group (n=3), treadmill with virtual reality group (n=3), and control group (n=3). Subjects in the treadmill with optic flow group wore a head-mounted display in order to receive a speed modulated real optic flow scene during treadmill training for 30 minutes, while those in the treadmill with virtual reality group and control group received treadmill training with virtual reality and regular therapy for the same amount of time, five times per week for a period of three weeks. Timed up and go test (TUG) and activities-specific balance confidence scale (ABC scale) were evaluated before and after the intervention. Results: TUG in the treadmill training with optic flow group showed significantly greater improvement, compared with the treadmill training with virtual reality group and control group (p<0.05). Significantly greater improvement in the ABC scale was observed in the treadmill training with optic flow group and the tread mill training with virtual reality group, compared with the control group (p<0.05). Conclusions: Findings of this study demonstrate that treadmill training with real optic flow scene can be helpful in improving balance and balance self-efficacy of patients with chronic stroke and may be used as a practical adjunct to routine rehabilitation therapy.

• PNF and Movement
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.199-206
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• 2019

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a virtual upper extremity training program using the RAPAEL Smart Glove on upper extremity function in stroke survivors with chronic hemiparesis and to focus the training program development using the Smart Glove as a feasibility study. Methods: This study was conducted using a single group and pre-post test research design in the outpatient departments of local rehabilitation units. Ten chronic hemiparetic stroke survivors with a diagnosis of first stroke received therapeutic rehabilitation at the rehabilitation units. All the participants used a virtual reality program with the RAPAEL Smart Glove for 30 minutes per session 3 days a week over 8 weeks. They also received conventional occupational therapy with functional electrical stimulation for 40 minutes per session 3 days a week for 8 weeks as an additional therapy. To analyze the effects of this therapeutic intervention, four clinical measures, including the box-block test (BBT), the Wolf motor function test (WMFT), the trail-making score, the Jebsen Taylor hand function test (JTHFT), and grip strength, were used. Results: Upon completion of the intervention in week 8, all the participants demonstrated significant WMFT, JTT, BBT, grip strength, and trail-making score gains compared to the respective baselines at week 0. Conclusion: This study suggests that virtual upper extremity training using the RAPAEL Smart Glove has a reasonable and beneficial effects on upper extremity function in chronic hemiparetic stroke survivors.

• Physical Therapy Korea
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.67-75
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of virtual reality (VR) therapy with compensation inhibition and feedback (CIF) on upper extremity function in chronic stroke patients. Seven chronic stroke patients participated in this study, which was a randomized controlled trial with a crossover design. Self upper extremity exercise, conservative VR therapy, and VR therapy with CIF were performed for one hour per session, 5 times per week, over a 3 week period. The main outcome measures involved range of motion (ROM) including shoulder, elbow, and wrist joints, a Manual Function Test (MFT), and a Motor Activity Log (MAL). Data were calculated as posttest and pretest changes in every session and were analyzed using Friedman and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests at p<.05. The results were as follows: 1) Statistically significant increase in ROM measurements of shoulder and elbow joints were seen with VR therapy with CIF compared to VR therapy and self upper extremity exercise (p<.05), whereas no significant increasing was noted for the wrist joint (p>.05). 2) Statistically significant increase in the MFT was seen with VR therapy with CIF compared with VR therapy and self upper extremity exercise (p<.05). 3) VR therapy with CIF also resulted in statistically significant increase in both activity of use (AOU) (p<.05) and quality of movement (QOM) (p<.05) on the MAL test when compared with VR therapy and self upper extremity exercise, respectively. In conclusion, VR therapy with CIF was more effective than conservative VR therapy and self upper extremity exercise in improving the upper extremity function in hemiplegic patients with chronic stroke.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.25 no.5
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• pp.360-365
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• 2013

Purpose: The purpose of study was to investigate effects of dance sports in virtual reality on balance, depression, and activities of daily living (ADL) in stroke patients. Methods: Subjects of the research consisted of 18 stroke patients who were randomly divided into the experimental and control groups, with nine patients each. All subjects underwent 30 minutes of Neurodevelopmental treatment (NDT) and 15 minutes of Functional electrical stimulation (FES) five days per week for a period of six weeks. Subjects in the experimental group performed an extra 30 minutes of dance sports in virtual reality each day. Balance, depression, and ADL of patients before and after the experiment were measured using Berg's balance scale (BBS), Beck depression inventory (BDI), and Modified Barthel index (MBI), respectively. For comparisone of the state before and after the experiment, wilcoxon signed ranks test was applied and for comparison of the difference between the groups, mannn-whitney U test was applied. Results: Results of this study, showed significant difference in balance, depression, and ADL between the experimental and control groups(p<0.05). As a control of the two groups, the experimental group, which performed extra dance sports in virtual reality, showed a significant difference in balance, depression, and ADL(p<0.05). Conclusion: Depending on the result, a dance sport in virtual reality was verified to enhance balance, depression, and ADL in stroke patients. Therefore, from now on, need for effective program development and application using dance sports in virtual reality will arise.

• Journal of the Korea Institute of Information and Communication Engineering
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• v.21 no.2
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• pp.361-366
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• 2017

As the technology of virtual reality has recently developed, virtual reality treatment programs for game addiction and alcoholism are being developed. The purpose of this study is to present a model of developmental process of virtual reality based cognitive behavior therapy program for trauma intervention in multicultural adolescents. The development of virtual reality program of cognitive behavior therapy consists of three stages. In the first step, In the first stage, the trauma characteristics including the main emotions and the expression problem due to the trauma experienced by the multicultural youth should be grasped. In the second stage, the contents of the development process and scope of the scenario for the cognitive behavior therapy for trauma should be presented. In the final stage 3, the study will examine the feasibility of implementing the scenario contents in the virtual reality program. Through this process, the intervention program development model that can lead the positive change of the multicultural youth was presented.