An augmented reality system for hand movement rehabilitation

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) therapy has been successful in various areas of applications. Augmented Reality (AR) is an emerging technology which shares some characteristics with VR. Due to its advantages with respect to VR, it has been used in the field of therapy recently. In this paper, a literature view on the current studies of VR therapy and AR therapy is presented. VR, AR and conventional therapies are compared. Based on the literature review, an AR system is proposed for the rehabilitation of hand movements which have been impaired due to illness or accident. Through the proposed system, the patient can practice daily at home with a standard computer and webcam. Using the AR technology, a highly controllable environment with tasks of different difficulty levels is provided to the patients for them to perform the exercise gradually and systematically.