An augmented reality training environment for post-stroke finger extension rehabilitation

Finger extension is an important hand function and is crucial for object exploration and manipulation. Unfortunately, the impairment of this motor function is common among stroke survivors. A training environment incorporating augmented reality (AR) in conjunction with assistive devices has been developed for the rehabilitation of finger extension. The environment consists of three components: the stroke survivor user element consisting of AR equipment/software and body-powered orthosis; the therapist element comprised of monitoring/control interface with visual, audio and force feedback; and the networking module which interconnects these two. In this paper we present the structure of this environment along with the results from a pilot case study with a stroke survivor.