Development and Studies of VR-Assisted Hand Therapy Using a Customized Biomechatronic 3D Printed Orthosis

Abstract

This article presents the process of development, testing, and use of wrist–hand orthosis in the hand therapy of a teen patient with congenital paresis disease. A regular 3D-printed anatomically adjusted orthosis is modified with a set of sensors, to work as motion and interaction controller in virtual reality (VR). As the patient with this condition cannot operate VR controllers due to wrist and hand defects, the corrective orthosis was converted to a VR controller, by introducing custom-made electronics and commercially available motion trackers, linking them to the orthosis. A VR game scenario, with typical input from the VR controllers replaced by input from the custom-made controllers is then designed. The VR game scenario is prepared with involvement of physiotherapists, to incorporate the most important exercises for patients with the same condition. The scenario is tested with a group of human patients and assessed by an expert physiotherapist, for determining its efficiency, as well as to determine a set of necessary improvements for future development of the orthosis.