OneHAND project, VR hand prosthesis training

Eric Jutten(1), , Beth Sheehan(2), Ole Olsen(3)
(1)The Simulation Crew, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
(2)International Confederation of Amputee Associations, Heron, Belgium
(3)Hy5, Oslo, Norway

Introduction

People worldwide are currently in need of prostheses solutions to replace upper limbs due to genetic malformation, war related trauma or occupational accidents. For upper limb amputees, a prosthetic hand is
one option for a , productive, independent life and enables participation in education, the labour market and social life.
Rehab training for the use of prostheses takes time and requires persistence. Virtual reality combined with rehabilitation is one way of creating an interactive and engaging process in a simulated environment that
enables upper limb prostheses users to experience scenarios that promote upper limb and prosthetic use.
The OneHAND project aims to combine rehabilitation knowledge with virtual reality to create a user centred solution that could be used globally.

Methods

In the OneHAND project, The Simulation Crew closely works together with International Confederation of Amputee Associations to gain prosthetic user insights as well as Hy5 to technically simulate the usage and control of a prosthesis MyHand.
Upper limb rehabilitation guidelines are being created by the project to support the virtual reality (VR) game development. Physicians, therapists and upper limb amputees are involved throughout the project in order to create attractive VR games that match the training need. Users are able to practice more in their
own home, with the guidance and support of healthcare professionals.

Results and discussion

The project has developed the basic working conditions in VR utilizing the application of one VR controller and 2 EMG sensors mounted on the residual limb of the prosthesus user. The project will integrate
rehabilitation and prostheses training exercises in game worlds.

Conclusions

Upper limb amputees will benefit from the usage of VR games in their rehabilitation and prosthesis training phases to ideally create better long term usage and adaptability to activities of daily living, occupational and recreational tasks

Lake scene in VR, hand and prosthesis visible for exercises