BACKGROUND
Virtual reality (VR) is a rapidly developing technology that has gained significant traction in the medical domain, particularly in the treatment and rehabilitation of individuals with stroke. The growing use of VR in stroke management has led to a notable increase in clinical investigations.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study is to present a bibliometric analysis of VR for stroke studies to identify prevailing research trends and guide future scientific research.
METHODS
Articles and reviews on the topic of virtual reality for stroke were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded of Web of Science Core Collection database. The data related to publications, countries, institutions, authors, journals, citations, and keywords in the studies were systematically analyzed using VOSviewer 1.6.20 and Citespace 6.3.1 software.
RESULTS
A total of 1171 papers on the topic of VR for stroke between 1999 and 2023 were analyzed and visualized to identify research hotspots and trends in the field. The number of annual publications in this field of study has increased gradually over the past 20 years, with the number of annual publications peaking in 2022 (n=154). In terms of publications and total citations, countries, institutions, and authors from North America and Western Europe were found to make significant contributions to the field. The current hotspot is concentrated on evaluating the effectiveness of VR for improving upper limb and balance functions in stroke patients. The keyword analysis indicates that the latest research is oriented to investigate the effectiveness of VR in combination with rehabilitation techniques such as physiotherapy and occupational therapy for the treatment of stroke, and the advancements in VR technology are increasingly gaining focus.
CONCLUSIONS
Our study offers insights into the current hotspots and emerging trends of VR in the treatment of stroke. These findings may serve as a guide for future research and the application of VR for stroke.