Stroke Patients’ Psychophysiological responses to Robot Training

Robotic interfaces are becoming increasingly common in motor rehabilitation, for they enable more intensive therapy. As the patient’s cognitive intent further enhances motor relearning, the robots have been usually combined with virtual reality (VR). In clinical environment the difficulty level of the training has to be ensured in a way to meet a particular patient’s performance capabilities, inducing appropriate motivation and arousal. While rehabilitation robots can provide objective information about the patient’s motor performance and VR-based game systems include real-time feedback, such systems do not offer insight into the patient’s psychological state (mood, motivation, engagement). Emotions experienced while playing computer games are reflected in physiological responses, which could be used to determine a patient’s level of enjoyment or frustration while training. The most commonly used psychophysiological responses are those of the autonomic nervous system: heart rate, skin conductance, respiration and skin temperature. Though autonomic nervous system responses are also influenced by any physical activity, their usefulness up to a certain level of physical load was confirmed. Stroke survivors seem to have weaker psychophysiological responses than healthy subjects. The disease itself can change the activity of the autonomic nervous system and other factors such as comorbidity and medication should be taken in consideration to influence psychophysiological measurements. Only skin conductance and skin temperature have been proven to be useful for psychological state estimation in stroke patients during robot-aided training in VR. Changes in heart rate primarily reflect physical activity while changes in respiration rate are small and unreliable. The psychophysiological measurements seem to be unreliable for assessing stroke patients’ psychological state during robot training in VR. Further studies are needed in this aspect of rehabilitation robotics

Didactic potential of using digital content with augmented reality

Авторами здійснено аналіз практичного досвіду вітчизняних і зарубіжних вчених у галузі комп’ютерно орієнтованих педагогічних технологій щодо використання VR і AR у процесі навчання. У ході дослідження проводився скринінг довгострокових трендів (за матеріалами світових прогнозів і тематичних оглядів); аналізувались глобальні соціально-економічні та науково-технологічні виклики, що стосуються сфери ІКТ; оцінювалися потенційні можливості використання технології віртуальної, доповненої та змішаної реальності для освіти; застосовувались методи порівняльного аналізу і тестування цифрових додатків й освітніх послуг. Охарактеризовано деякі поняття, необхідні для однозначного розуміння представлених результатів: імерсивність, об’єкти імерсивних технологій, відчуття присутності, віртуальна реальність, доповнена реальність, розширена реальність, змішана реальність, заміщена реальність, віртуальний і доповнений метавсесвіт. У статті коротко викладено напрями практичного застосування технологій віртуальної і доповненої реальності у бізнесі, виробництві, корпоративному навчанні. Увагу дослідників зосереджено на використанні технології розширеної реальності в освітньому процесі: ігрова діяльність і технології розширеної реальності; освітній цифровий контент на базі технології розширеної реальності; огляд освітніх мобільних додатків з підтримкою технології доповненої реальності; застосування узагальненої моделі електронної освіти Хана. Недостатньо дослідженим, а отже актуальним для подальших наукових розвідок є розширення візуальних можливостей шкільних підручників шляхом використання інтерактивних моделей, відеозображень та об’єктів доповненої реальності, зокрема для предметів природничо-математичного циклу. Обґрунтованість і результативність таких досліджень буде залежати від наявності і стану розроблення відповідних критеріїв та показників оцінювання освітнього цифрового контенту, зокрема контенту з доповненою реальністю.During the studies, long-term trends were screened (based on the materials of worldwide forecasts and thematic reviews); global socio-economic and scientific-technological challenges related to the field of ICT were analyzed; potential opportunities for the use of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies for the purpose of education were assessed. The authors analyzed the practical experience of domestic and foreign scientists in the field of computer-based pedagogical technologies for the use of VR and AR in the process of education; methods of comparative analysis and testing of digital applications and educational services were applied. Some concepts necessary for unambiguous understanding of the presented results are described: immersiveness, objects of immersive technologies, sense of presence, virtual reality, augmented reality, extended reality, mixed reality, substituted reality, virtual and augmented metaverse. The article briefly outlines the areas of practical application of virtual and augmented reality technologies in business, manufacturing, corporate training. Researchers focus on the use of augmented reality technology in the educational process: gaming and augmented reality technology, educational digital content based on augmented reality technology; review of educational mobile applications which support augmented reality technology; application of Khan's generalized model of e-education. The expansion of the visual possibilities of school textbooks through the use of interactive models, video images and augmented reality objects, in particular for natural sciences and mathematics, is insufficiently researched and therefore relevant for further research. The validity and effectiveness of such studies will depend on the availability and status of the development of appropriate criteria and indicators for evaluating educational digital content, in particular that, which includes augmented reality content

An exploratory fNIRS study with immersive virtual reality: a new method for technical implementation

For over two decades Virtual Reality (VR) has been used as a useful tool in several fields, from medical and psychological treatments, to industrial and military applications. Only in recent years researchers have begun to study the neural correlates that subtend VR experiences. Even if the functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) is the most common and used technique, it suffers several limitations and problems. Here we present a methodology that involves the use of a new and growing brain imaging technique, functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), while participants experience immersive VR. In order to allow a proper fNIRS probe application, a custom-made VR helmet was created. To test the adapted helmet, a virtual version of the line bisection task was used. Participants could bisect the lines in a virtual peripersonal or extrapersonal space, through the manipulation of a Nintendo Wiimote ® controller in order for the participants to move a virtual laser pointer. Although no neural correlates of the dissociation between peripersonal and extrapersonal space were found, a significant hemodynamic activity with respect to the baseline was present in the right parietal and occipital areas. Both advantages and disadvantages of the presented methodology are discussed

The Relation of Presence and Virtual Reality Exposure for Treatment of Flying Phobia

A growing body of literature suggests that Virtual Reality is a successful tool for exposure therapy for anxiety disorders. Virtual Reality (VR) researchers posit the construct of presence, interpreting an artificial stimulus as if it were real, as the mechanism that enables anxiety to be felt during virtual reality exposure therapy (VRE). However, empirical studies on the relation between presence and anxiety in VRE have yielded mixed findings. The current study tested the following hypotheses 1) Presence is related to in session anxiety and treatment outcome; 2) Presence mediates the extent that pre-existing (pre-treatment) anxiety is experienced during exposure with VR; 3) Presence is positively related to the amount of phobic elements included within the virtual environment. Results supported presence as the mechanism by which anxiety is experienced in the virtual environment as well as a relation between presence and the phobic elements, but did not support a relation between presence and treatment outcom

Características de los procedimientos de realidad virtual en la agorafobia.

Trabajo Fin de Grado Curso 2015-2016[ES]Hasta ahora, los tratamientos con mayor soporte empírico para la agorafobia con o sin trastornos de pánico eran la terapia cognitivo-conductual y la exposición “in vivo”. Sin embargo, gracias al desarrollo tecnológico, ahora contamos con una nueva herramienta que puede ayudar a mejorar los tratamientos existentes, la Realidad Virtual. El objetivo de este trabajo es realizar una revisión bibliográfica acerca de las características de los tratamientos psicológicos de la agorafobia que incluyen este tipo de tecnología. Para ello, se han revisado tanto estudios empíricos como revisiones bibliográficas al respecto. Las bases de datos utilizadas han sido: Psicodoc, CSIC y Psycinfo. Tras el análisis de la información, se ha encontrado que la exposición a través de Realidad Virtual, ya sea presentada sola o integrada en un tratamiento cognitivo-conductual, es efectiva para el tratamiento de la agorafobia. Además, ciertas características de la Realidad Virtual pueden suponer una mejora respecto a los tratamientos tradicionales. Por ejemplo, parece que este tipo de tratamiento mejora la adherencia, la aceptabilidad y que puede conseguir los mismos resultados que otras terapias en un número menor de sesiones. Sin embargo, es necesario seguir investigando para poder avanzar en el conocimiento de esta nueva forma de hacer terapia

Height Simulation in a Virtual Reality CAVE System: Validity of Fear Responses and Effects of an Immersion Manipulation

Acrophobia is characterized by intense fear in height situations. Virtual reality (VR) can be used to trigger such phobic fear, and VR exposure therapy (VRET) has proven effective for treatment of phobias, although it remains important to further elucidate factors that modulate and mediate the fear responses triggered in VR. The present study assessed verbal and behavioral fear responses triggered by a height simulation in a 5-sided cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE) with visual and acoustic simulation and further investigated how fear responses are modulated by immersion, i.e., an additional wind simulation, and presence, i.e., the feeling to be present in the VE. Results revealed a high validity for the CAVE and VE in provoking height related self-reported fear and avoidance behavior in accordance with a trait measure of acrophobic fear. Increasing immersion significantly increased fear responses in high height anxious (HHA) participants, but did not affect presence. Nevertheless, presence was found to be an important predictor of fear responses. We conclude that a CAVE system can be used to elicit valid fear responses, which might be further enhanced by immersion manipulations independent from presence. These results may help to improve VRET efficacy and its transfer to real situations

Virtual Reality for Anxiety Disorders

Virtual reality is a relatively new exposure tool that uses three-dimensional computer-graphics-based technologies which allow the individual to feel as if they are physically inside the virtual environment by misleading their senses. As virtual reality studies have become popular in the field of clinical psychology in recent years, it has been observed that virtual-reality-based therapies have a wide range of application areas, especially on anxiety disorders. Studies indicate that virtual reality can be more realistic than mental imagery and can create a stronger feeling of ԰resenceԻ that it is a safer starting point compared to in vivo exposure; and that it can be applied in a more practical and controlled manner. The aim of this review is to investigate exposure studies based on virtual reality in anxiety disorders (specific phobias, panic disorder and agoraphobias, generalized anxiety disorder, social phobia), posttraumatic stress disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder

THE ROLE OF HEAD MOVEMENTS IN SIMULATOR SICKNESS GENERATED BY A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Virtual environments (VEs) are being used in a variety of applications, including training, rehabilitation and clinical treatment. To effectively utilize VEs in these situations it is important to try to understand some of the effects of VE exposure. The purpose of this study was to investigate head and body movements in virtual and real environments during building clearing and the relationship between these movements and simulator sickness. The data for the current study were drawn from a larger team training study which investigated the use of VEs for training building clearing. The goal of the first part of this study was to compare head movements made in a real world (RW) environment to head movements made in a VE (Analysis I). The goal of second part of this study was to examine the relationship between head movements and simulator sickness in a VE (Analysis II). The first analysis used two independent samples t-tests to examine the differences between head movements made in a VE and head movements made in a RW environment. The t-tests showed that subjects in the VE moved their heads less, t(23.438)=12.690, p\u3c0.01, and less often, t(46)=8.682, p\u3c0.05, than subjects in the RW. In the second analysis, a 3 x 20 ANOVA found a significant difference between groups with low, med, and high simulator sickness scores, F(2,21)=4.221, p\u3c0.05, ήp2= 0.287, where subjects who reported being the most sick tended to restrict their head movements more than the other two groups. For VEs to progress as a useful tool, whether for training, therapy, etc., it will be necessary to identify the variable(s) that cause people to become motion sick and restrict their head movement during VE exposure. Future studies should seek to investigate more continuous measures of sickness, perhaps psychophysiological measures, and possible effects of a negative transfer of training due to the restriction of head movements in VEs