Jane Ingall from ABC Radio New England North West recently interviewed Neuromersiv about how we are using Virtual Reality to put the fun into rehabilitation

Survivors of brain injury in rural areas are being encouraged to trial a new virtual reality prototype that hopes to aid the recovery of movement and fine motor skills.

Designed to put the fun back into rehabilitation exercises, it takes participants into a virtual world. A robotic glove containing sensors helps with muscle movement and at the same time monitors improvement.

“It’s basically like an electrical octopus sitting on your hand,” says co-developer Rohan O’Reilly.

“Inside there are encase all the electrical goodies. That system communicates with the software in the virtual environment.”

Once inside the virtual world, participants taken through a series of tasks.

‘There’s an avatar in there that talks to them and it tells them what it wants them to do and encouraged them to practice, and it rewards them,” says Mr O’Reilly.

The prototype will be trialled in Tamworth and the Central Coast and physiotherapists love the idea too.

“Often these devices are put out and consumers are asked to buy them and there’s no research or evidence behind whether they work or not,” says Dr Luke Wakely from the University of Newcastle Department of Rural Health.

Colin Neilson suffered a stroke a year ago, and more than happy to be a guinea pig.

“It felt real, it was right here, and if that thing does what he says, it’ll be unreal,” he says.