Virtual reality as an upper limb rehabilitation approach

The consequences of cerebrovascular diseases significantly reduce the quality of life of patients. Recovery of basic motor skills, such as the ability to reach the object, manipulate it, and coordinate the movements of two hands is one of the top-priority tasks in restoring patient’s living and social activity. Training in the environment as close to the real one as possible, active involvement of the patient, as well as interactive feedback, which allows patients to control the correct execution of motor tasks and adjust their own efforts are required for successful motor recovery. The development of computer technology enabled the improvement of conventional approaches to rehabilitation of stroke patients. Virtual reality (VR) is extensively used to meet these conditions and achieve successful targeted training for a specific motor task. The technical basis of VR includes computer modeling and computer simulation, as well as three-dimensional visualization, which provides realistic visualization of movements on the screen. These technologies enable reconstruction of the appropriate working space for motor skill training, and provide interactive feedback and high intensity of rehabilitation. This article provides information about the development of these technologies in the field of motor rehabilitation of upper extremity function, comparative analysis of systems that are currently used or being developed, and prospects of VR development in neurorehabilitation.