A gamified virtual environment intervention for gait rehabilitation in Parkinson's Disease: co-creation and feasibility study
- PMID: 38915103
- PMCID: PMC11194924
- DOI: 10.1186/s12984-024-01399-6
A gamified virtual environment intervention for gait rehabilitation in Parkinson's Disease: co-creation and feasibility study
Abstract
Background: Treadmill gait training has been shown to improve gait performance in People with Parkinson's Disease (PwPD), and in combination with Virtual Reality, it can be an effective tool for gait rehabilitation. The addition of gamification elements can create a more stimulating and adherent intervention. However, implementation of new technologies in healthcare can be challenging. This study aimed to develop and evaluate the feasibility of a treadmill rehabilitation program in a Gamified Virtual Reality Environment (GVRE) for PwPD.
Methods: The GVRE was developed following a user-centered design approach, involving both PwPD and physiotherapists in the development and evaluation of the intervention. The intervention consisted of a walking simulation in three different environments (countryside, city, and park), which had a progressive increase in difficulty. To test its feasibility, three sessions were carried out with four PwPD and four physiotherapists. To assess the usability, the System Usability Scale (SUS), Assistive Technology Usability Questionnaire for people with Neurological diseases (NATU Quest) and Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ) were used. To assess the intervention's acceptability, feedback and in-game performance was collected from participants.
Results: Results showed the feasibility of the intervention, with a SUS score of 74.82 ± 12.62, and a NATU Quest score of 4.49 ± 0.62, and positive acceptability feedback. Participants showed clear preferences for naturalistic environments, and gamification elements were seen as positive. Difficulty settings worked as intended, but lowered enjoyment of the experience in some cases.
Conclusions: This intervention was successfully shown as a feasible option for the training of gait under Dual Task conditions for PwPD. It offers a safe and replicable environment in which complex situations can be trained. However, further iterations of the intervention need to be improved in order to guarantee accurate tracking and a more realistic training progression.
Trial registration number: NCT05243394-01/20/2022.
Keywords: Feasibility; Gait rehabilitation; Gamification; Parkinson’s disease; Virtual reality.
© 2024. The Author(s).
Conflict of interest statement
The authors declare no competing interests.
Figures
Similar articles
-
Immersive virtual reality during gait rehabilitation increases walking speed and motivation: a usability evaluation with healthy participants and patients with multiple sclerosis and stroke.J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2021 Apr 22;18(1):68. doi: 10.1186/s12984-021-00848-w. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2021. PMID: 33888148 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Immersive virtual reality and antigravity treadmill training for gait rehabilitation in Parkinson's disease: a pilot and feasibility study.Rev Neurol. 2020 Dec 16;71(12):447-454. doi: 10.33588/rn.7112.2020352. Rev Neurol. 2020. PMID: 33319347 Clinical Trial. English, Spanish.
-
The feasibility and positive effects of a customised videogame rehabilitation programme for freezing of gait and falls in Parkinson's disease patients: a pilot study.J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2018 Apr 10;15(1):31. doi: 10.1186/s12984-018-0375-x. J Neuroeng Rehabil. 2018. PMID: 29636105 Free PMC article. Clinical Trial.
-
Treadmill training for patients with Parkinson's disease.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Sep 13;2015(9):CD007830. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007830.pub4. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015. PMID: 26363646 Free PMC article. Review.
-
Treadmill training for patients with Parkinson's disease.Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Aug 22;(8):CD007830. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007830.pub3. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015. Update in: Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015 Sep 13;(9):CD007830. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD007830.pub4. PMID: 26297797 Updated. Review.
References
-
- Feigin VL, Krishnamurthi RV, Theadom AM, Abajobir AA, Mishra SR, Ahmed MB, et al. Global, regional, and national burden of neurological disorders during 1990–2015: a systematic analysis for the global burden of Disease Study 2015. Lancet Neurol. 2017;16(11):877–97. doi: 10.1016/S1474-4422(17)30299-5. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
MeSH terms
Associated data
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Medical