Expert-learner based virtual reality aid with kinesthetic interaction for upper limb rehabilitation

Conventional limb rehabilitation requires a person-to-person meeting in a same physical place within a fixed setting. The virtual reality (VR) aid for rehabilitation therapy eliminates such limitations by utilizing computer generated virtual environment and off-the-shelf haptic devices. In the proposed upper limb rehabilitation system, two identical VR systems, placed one in the expert (therapist) location and the other in the learner (patient), are connected via communication network, enabling interactive rehabilitation training in separate places. For the effective training and evaluation, the expert and learner's haptic devices are synchronized in real-time with slight active correction by human's active visual feedback. To verify the feasibility and usability, example tests are presented for the developed laboratory test system.