The goal of ImpHandRehab (ERC proof of concept grant) was to use state-of-the-art virtual reality (VR) hand-tracking technology to develop novel tasks that focus on improving hand impairments (open and closing the hand) in stroke patients. Based on recent work, these tasks would optimise improvements using closed-loop reward-based learning designs and distracting environments. During ImpHandRehab, 2 novel VR tasks were developed (‘submarine escape’ and ‘balloon factory’) that trained participants to make larger and faster open and close hand movements with one focusing on whole hand movements (balloon factory) and the other on individual finger movements (submarine escape). Both tasks involved a carefully designed reward structure and complex VR distracting environment. These tasks have been validated in young healthy and older healthy adults with the results clearly showing that reward enhances motor learning and retention (publication in preparation). The ‘submarine escape’ task is now available on the sidequest VR platform with over 6500 people engaging with the product. ImpHandRehab also developed a methodological approach to assess and validate the spatial and temporal accuracy of this new VR hand-tracking technology (
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.02.18.481001v1(odnośnik otworzy się w nowym oknie)). This will be vital for successfully incorporating this technology in applied settings such as rehabilitation. While the testing of stroke patients has been restricted due to Covid, the equipment and task is now being tested within a clinical context. ImpHandRehab has highlighted the immense promise of VR hand tracking technology for accurately assessing and manipulating hand/finger movements within a VR context for the first time. This technology, and the reward-based tasks developed, could provide a new frontier for VR applications in applied settings such as rehabilitation.
