H'ability integrates Mixed Reality for rehabilitation

What if the future of virtual reality was mixed reality?

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) has established itself as a promising technology in rehabilitation, helping to motivate patients, diversify exercises and reduce kinesiophobia. VR is being developed to be more accessible by being portable, without cables or sensors, and by integrating hand-tracking technology, enabling natural interactions.

Mixed reality (MR), a technology that combines the real and the virtual, takes accessibility one step further.

VR, AR, MR: what exactly are we talking about?

XR (eXtented Reality) brings together VR, AR and MR. We can conceive of a continuum between :

  • Augmented Reality (AR): we perceive the real world, but superimpose digital objects (annotations, holograms, landmarks) that we see above reality, but which do not interact with the world around us.

  • Mixed Reality (MR): a fusion of the real and virtual worlds, with interactions between digital objects and the physical world.

  • Virtual Reality (VR): a fully simulated world in which you are immersed and cut off from the real world.

 

Focus on mixed reality (MR)

MR makes it possible to integrate virtual objects or elements into our real field of vision, so that they coexist with the physical world and can interact with it: for example, it is possible to make a virtual basketball appear, which the patient can catch, manipulate and throw, and the ball will have all the expected interractions, such as bouncing on the surfaces it touches.

MR does not suppress the physical reality around the patient: it enriches and completes it. This reduces the effect of perceived rupture and facilitates anchoring in the known environment.

Application in rehabilitation

Virtual reality in rehabilitation

Let's take a look at what virtual reality has already demonstrated in rehabilitation, and the obstacles it faces.

Studies show that VR can :

      • Encourage patient involvement and motivation, by making exercises more fun and immersive. 

      • Diverting the patient's attention from impairment to experience, making the effort less focused on pain or discomfort. 

      • Offer adaptive tasks, adjustable for difficulty, with real-time feedback, enabling individualized rehabilitation. 

      • Offer monitoring and data collection (kinematics, temporality, etc.) to adjust the protocol. 

Despite all these benefits, there are still a number of hurdles to overcome:

    • Some patients are reluctant to "enter VR": fear of the headset, fear of being cut off from reality, discomfort (nausea, kinetosis), etc.

    • For some, prolonged VR sessions can lead to visual fatigue, nausea or perceptual discomfort.

    • For patients with balance problems or at risk of falling, total immersion can represent a danger if they can no longer perceive their real environment.

Mixed reality in rehabilitation

Mixed reality complements what already exists in VR, with the particularity of retaining the link with the physical world while adding virtual interactive elements. This has advantages in the case of rehabilitation:

  • Patients remain in the environment they know, continuing to see their bodies and their surroundings, which reassures them and maintains a sensory reference point. 

  • Tasks can involve physical objects (e.g. ramps, obstacles) mixed with virtual elements, facilitating transfer to the real world.

  • For anxious patients, MR can also be a new way of working, as it can be reassuring to maintain the patient's previous environment.  

  • Guides, cues or visual aids can be superimposed in the context of a room, making the exercise more intuitive.

At H'ability, we are convinced that this technology will enable more patients to have access to safe, motivating rehabilitation. Mixed reality is the ideal technology for patients who are anxious or need to work on movement, and our first developments for this technology concern gait rehabilitation.

If these challenges concern and interest you, we co-develop all our applications with our users, contact us for a demonstration!

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