Virtual Reality-Assisted Goalkeeper Training for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in a Safe and Adapted Patient Environment

Rehabilitation is a critical routine in recovering mobility for individuals with motor limitations due to injury. Consistency in rehabilitation routines is essential for effective recovery, and it depends on the patient’s motivation and autonomy. This article introduces a serious game based on Virtual Reality (VR) that immerses the patient in a fully dynamic and engaging training environment for upper limb rehabilitation. It simulates the activity of a handball goalkeeper, compelling the patient to exercise their arms and hands to regain upper limb mobility and trunk inclination to enhance stability, particularly relevant for wheelchair users. The proposed system aims to simplify technology use, featuring a single VR headset integrating body tracking, and functional and spatial-temporal data analysis algorithms, without the need for additional tracking devices. An intuitive, hands-free interface makes the system adaptable to each patient’s specific limitations and safe by minimizing overexertion and compensatory actions. Moreover, the proposal allows for the logging of activity data and introduces a set of metrics enabling therapists to assess progress. This facilitates patient autonomy, enabling them to perform their routine in a medical center under professional supervision or at home without needing to commute to the rehabilitation centre. The experimentation focuses on a functional validation of the proposed system by patients and therapists at the Hospital Nacional de Parapléjicos de Toledo (HNPT), as a prerequisite to ensure patient safety and acceptance before undertaking long-term studies to measure the effectiveness and impact of using the proposed serious game on patient recovery and improvement.