Researchers at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Maryland, have concluded that amputee patients with phantom limb pain (PLP) and limited functionality in their prosthetic limb have improvements in both areas after participating in a virtual integration environment (VIE), commonly called virtual reality.
In the study, patients observed a three-dimensional limb in a VIE, and controlled a modular prosthetic limb (MPL) using consistent surface electromyography (sEMG) signals from the VIE. During each VIE session, recorded signals from the residual limb were correlated to the desired motion of the phantom limb, and changes in PLP were scored. Preliminary results showed an overall reduction in PLP and a trend toward improvement in signal-to-motion accuracy.
For more details about the study, visit “Use of a Virtual Integrated Environment in Prosthetic Limb Development and Phantom Limb Pain.”
For more information about the topic, read “Examining the Uses of Virtual Reality in Prosthetic Rehabilitation.”
