Virtual Reality Game Development Using Accelerometers for Post-stroke Rehabilitation

Abstract

stroke can generate several types of sequelae, including motor difficulties in both upper and lower limbs. One way to eliminate or reduce these difficulties is through physical therapy, but this type of treatment can often become tiresome and monotonous, decreasing the patient’s interest. Thus, aiming to assist in the rehabilitation of patients, this work seeks to use immersive virtual reality games with the purpose of interacting with physiotherapy exercises. In this type of game the individual must use special equipment (glasses) to feel in an environment where they can interact in different ways with the scenery. Among the possible equipment used for immersive virtual reality was chosen to use a smartphone in conjunction with a virtual reality glasses. In this way an environment was developed that allows the individual to move through the scenario by the control of the upper virtual members by accelerometry sensors, which will be positioned properly to identify the actual movement of the limbs. Thus, an equipment was developed capable of reading the movements and sending this information to a smartphone that executes the developed game.