Los Angeles-based University of Southern California researcher Sook-Lei Liew, PhD, is using a virtual reality headset to change the way neurologists approach stroke treatment, according to USC News.
Dr. Liew's lab, the Neural Plasticity and Neurorehabilitation Laboratory, developed a system called REINVENT — Rehabilitation Environment using the Integration of Neuromuscular-based Virtual Enhancements for Neural Training — which uses VR in combination with brain and muscle sensors to enable a user to move in a virtual world. Dr. Liew's theory is that, in time, VR can teach the stroke-damaged brain circuits to work properly again.
Dr. Liew's team created the REINVENT prototype with a laptop computer, a store-bought VR rig, a swim cap and an open-source brain-computer interface electroenchepalogram system. The electrodes are attached to the swim cap with the help of Dr. Liew's mother's sewing machine.
"Most of the demonstrated uses for VR are gaming or entertainment right now," Dr. Liew said. "But the future has got to include VR for healthcare, too."
REINVENT has only been used on healthy older adults, but in the next six months, Dr. Liew and her team plan to test it on stroke survivors.
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