Virtual reality and stroke rehabilitation: a tangible interface to an every day task

Abstract

At the University of Nottingham, UK, a project is currently in progress which is exploring the application of virtual environments for supporting stroke rehabilitation. The project has focussed on a user centred design approach and has involved consultation with stroke survivors, therapists and stroke researchers. Seminars held during the initial phase of the project offered an insight into the priorities and perspectives of these individuals, from which we identified the activity of making a hot drink as a suitable every day task to study. Although the longer term aim is to investigate a possible role of a virtual environment to support the rehabilitation of a sequential task, our immediate concern is to select a method of interacting with the virtual environment, which is both appropriate and acceptable for stroke survivors. Responding to a preference for naturalistic action and realistic scenarios, a tangible user interface to a hot drink making activity was piloted with stroke survivors resident in the community. The results of this study have improved our understanding of how stroke survivors interact with simulations and highlighted aspects in need of improvement.