Samenvatting

Rehabilitation after an accident in which an arm or hand is paralyzed, is a long process. Stimulate the brain during this process is important to improve recovery. A common therapy to help patients, is mirror therapy. Originally designed for people with phantom limb pain it activates mirror neurons to fool the brain into perceiving a paralyzed arm or hand is still moving. The development of virtual reality technologies promises new opportunities for mirror therapy. It allows the addition of gamification elements and gives patients the opportunity to practice independent from time and location. In the project ‘Virtual Reality for Rehabilitation’ we try to achieve just that. However, to what extent the effects of mirror therapy are transferable to a virtual reality environment is yet to be studied.
A Conference object of Supporting Health by Technology - 10th edition - at Enschede, The Netherlands