VReal. Affordable virtual remote neurological rehabilitation

Ezequiel Hidalgo

IRYCIS, Instituto Ramón y Cajal de Investigación Sanitaria, Espanya

In Spain, 130,000 new strokes occur every year, one every six seconds, adding to the 33 million people living with the consequences of brain damage worldwide. The vast majority of these patients do not receive adequate treatment, given that it usually lacks the recommended duration, intensity and specificity.

VReal is an affordable virtual rehabilitation platform that helps patients with neurological deficits regain their independence and self-confidence. Using the patient’s smartphone, it is intended to provide effective and affordable virtual neurological rehabilitation therapies from their own home, in a safe manner. The therapy consists of a series of therapeutic videos in virtual reality (using a virtual reality viewer) in which the patient receives motor stimulation. This treatment combines three different therapies: Mirror therapy, action-observation and motor imagery. Classically, these therapies were performed separately, but this therapy combines them to allow our patients to take their rehabilitation to the next level. This platform will also improve the standard of living in the patient’s environment, especially for primary caregivers who are often overburdened family members.

In addition, the affordable alternatives provided will allow universal access to treatment by providing access to developing countries.