EVEREST - pilot study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Immersive Virtual Reality Enhanced Reinforcement Induced Physical Therapy (EVEREST). A pilot case control study of using virtual reality enhanced upper limb rehabilitation for stroke survivors.
IRAS ID
264096
Contact name
Kiruba Nagaratnam
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Stroke is the leading cause of disability and there are about 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK. Almost two thirds of the stroke survivors leave the hospital with disability. The brain has a remarkable ability to recover from an injury through adapting and learning. This ability is called neuroplasticity. This process is helped by rehabilitation and can last for more than 6 months.
Constrain Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT), a rehabilitation technique where the unaffected limb is restricted to encourage the movement of the stroke affected limb has proven to be beneficial in the upper limb rehabilitation. An alternative novel approach called Reinforcement Induced Movement Therapy (RIMT) where positive reinforcement is used by enhancing the perceived movement of the stroke affected upper limb. The use of immersive virtual reality (IVR), the same technology used in video gaming, has not been studied well in this context. The previous studies of IVR-based physical therapy mainly focused on entertainment aspects in the virtual environment, rather than incorporating motor enhancement.
In this study, we plan to evaluate this new therapeutic approach that incorporates positive reinforcement components in the upper limb rehabilitation using the immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology. The participants will wear a virtual reality headset (Occulus Rift) with a tiny movement sensor attached to it to detect the movements of the upper limbs. This will enable them to see the movements in the virtual environment. During the intervention we will digitally enhance the performance of the participant’s stroke-affected upper limb in the virtual environment. So the participants would perceive this as if their arm is reaching further and more accurately with every effort than is actually occurring in real life. We will study this intervention in 15 participants and compare the effect and feasibility of its use in rehabilitation against 15 controls.REC name
South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
20/SC/0035
Date of REC Opinion
20 Mar 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion