[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/cs\/article\/modal\/5980\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n      3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n      \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n        \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n  \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003EVirtual reality helps stroke victims walk again\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPhysical difficulties are the most common effects of a stroke \u2013 paralysis, weakness and changes in sensitivity on one side of the body can make it hard for stroke patients to carry out everyday movements such as walking, eating and getting dressed.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeing active, including attending rehabilitation treatments such as occupational and physical therapy, is an important way of preserving the individual\u2019s remaining physical abilities and can help prevent another stroke. Yet this process is often as much a mental battle as a physical one: stroke rehabilitation can be hard, monotonous and slow.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe EU-funded VR STROKE REHAB project \u2013 based at Tel Aviv University in Israel \u2013 is using virtual reality video games to find out if they can help get stroke patients exercising again.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe team is using a range of commercially developed consoles with sensors which react to real-time movements of the user, replicating their actions on screen. They get stroke patients to play the games - often in a group setting - which helps encourage them to move around.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Video games delivered in a group setting keep the participants motivated and challenged by offering variability in exercises, providing intensity and meaningful task-related movements, and providing feedback,\u2019 said Dr Debbie Rand, the project\u2019s principal investigator.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EShe believes the idea could be extended to give patients continued access to the equipment. \u2018Similar video game group interventions could possibly be run in community centres,\u2019 she said.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EVirtual reality for all\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAt first glance, it seems an extremely hi-tech approach to a common ailment. Yet virtual reality technology is making great strides, and early versions of the game-changing Oculus Rift system will be available this year.\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022text-center text-blue font-bold text-2xl w-full lg:w-1\/2 border-2 border-blue p-12 my-8 lg:m-12 lg:-ml-16 float-left\u0022\u003E\n  \u003Cspan class=\u0022text-5xl rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n  \u003Cp class=\u0022font-serif italic\u0022\u003E\u2018Our research suggests that having a different body can even transform attitudes and behaviours.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\n  \u003Cfooter\u003E\n    \u003Ccite class=\u0022not-italic font-normal text-sm text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Melvyn Slater, principal investigator, TRAVERSE \u003C\/cite\u003E\n  \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESoon, we could slip on a headset in our lounge and transport ourselves into a fantasy world. For people recovering from a stroke and learning to live with other debilitating illnesses, this alternative world might be one in which they can develop confidence in their abilities and become more engaged with the challenges set out before them.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018Virtual reality allows us to be able to transform our sense of reality under controlled conditions, by technology,\u2019 said Professor Melvyn Slater, based at the University of Barcelona, in Spain. \u2018It affords the ability to realise dreams, to experience and potentially better understand the world from different points of view \u2013 and can now also offer the experience of transforming ourselves.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Slater is principal investigator of the TRAVERSE project, funded by the European Research Council. He and his team are aiming to create immersive experiences powerful enough to completely transform an individual\u2019s perception of their body.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018The major concentration so far has been on how virtual reality can be used to give participants the illusion of having a different body to their real one, and the consequences of that,\u2019 he explained. \u2018Our research suggests that having a different body can even transform attitudes and behaviours.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETranscending reality for rehabilitation\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EPerfecting ways of transcending reality would provide participants with experiences simply not possible in the real world, such as overcoming a disability to run along the beach, or even flying. Although nothing more than a complex illusion, such an experience could potentially give weakened and paralysed individuals the ability to practise and exaggerate their movement. This could result in greater emotional reward during physiotherapy.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EMeanwhile, the first data from the VR STROKE REHAB project suggests that the team\u2019s confidence seems well founded. Measurements of both speed and duration of movements revealed that participants using the virtual reality games were able to achieve five times more repetitions of \u2018active, purposeful\u2019 movements than those who were not.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETurning rehabilitation into a game could also make patients happier in the process. In a feedback questionnaire, almost all the participants said they very much enjoyed the experience. A more enjoyable programme could help battle the symptoms of depression, fatigue, and anxiety so common after strokes and other similar conditions.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ECombined with commercial research, these projects are pushing the boundaries of what virtual reality can achieve, and what it can offer to patients overcoming both physical and mental disabilities.\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\u003C\/textarea\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E\n\n            \u003Cdiv id=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 class=\u0022ecl-help-block description\u0022\u003E\n      Please copy the above code and embed it onto your website to republish.\n    \u003C\/div\u003E\n  \u003C\/div\u003E\n\u003Cinput autocomplete=\u0022off\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022form-ufipmt6uux0qyi41ewvoodbkme6tk2in12r-htjbvuo\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_build_id\u0022 value=\u0022form-UfiPMt6uUX0QYi41eWVOoDBKme6tK2In12R-HtjbvUo\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003Cinput data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 type=\u0022hidden\u0022 name=\u0022form_id\u0022 value=\u0022modal_form_example_modal_form\u0022 \/\u003E\n\u003C\/form\u003E\n\u003C\/div\u003E","dialogOptions":{"width":"800","modal":true,"title":"Republish this content"}}]