DMRC publishes latest research into effectiveness of VR gait education

The Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre (DMRC) based at the Defence and National Rehabilitation Centre (DNRC) have published their latest research, entitled: “Effectiveness of virtual reality-based gait education in enhancing the rehabilitation outcomes of injured military personnel.”  The aim of this study was to establish the patients’ perceptions of virtual reality-based gait education (VR-GEd) and to assess its influence on the standard military rehabilitation outcomes.

This research uses the Motek Computer Assisted Rehabilitation Environment (CAREN High End) which was installed back in 2018. The CAREN is a versatile, multi-sensory system used for clinical analysis, rehabilitation, and the evaluation and training of human movement, balance and gait. The CAREN combines a motion platform with six degrees of freedom, an instrumented force plate dual belt treadmill, motion capture, high speed video, D-Flow software, virtual reality (VR) and surround sound, and uses game elements and immersive interactions to engage the subject within a real time feedback loop.

Twenty patients with lower-limb musculoskeletal injuries undertook a VR-GEd session on the commencement of a 3-week, multidisciplinary, inpatient course of rehabilitation. Patient outcomes were compared with a group of matched controls, completing the same standardised course of inpatient treatment.

Read the full case study here.