A new project for rehabilitation and psychomotor disease analysis with virtual reality support.
This paper deals with the project DD1-97, developed inside European Project VREPAR, for the application of a new equipment for psychomotor disease analysis and rehabilitation. The small equipment presents a glove for one finger, with sensors, which detect the movement of the phalanges and the force of the finger tip on a button. Electromyographs are measuring the nervous signals from flexion and extension muscles of the finger. In a portable computer a program examines the signals and elaborates them. The commands for the patient are of 4 kinds: -dynamic motion of the finger; -motion with vision of the finger; -motion without vision of the finger; -control by the images from virtual reality which reproduces the "virtual finger". The results with healthy persons show a distribution in the foreseen range; with disabled person (with Parkinson's disease) show that virtual reality may support rehabilitation for neuromotor problems. The equipment is designed with reference to the most modern ergonomic concepts.
Rovetta
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A
Telerobotics Laboratory, Mechanical Department, Politecnico di Milano, Italy. rovetta@axp7000.cdc.polimi.it
Lorini
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F
Canina
M
M
D001676:Biofeedback, Psychology; D004576:Electromyography; D006804:Ergonomics; D006225:Hand / Q000502:physiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D014584:User-Computer Interface