Virtual reality-based assessment and treatment interventions for the combat-injured service member

Summary form only given. This presentation will highlight clinical cases and empirical results from virtual reality (VR)-based rehabilitation programs at two military medical facilities. These programs utilize VR environments to detect and treat functional deficits often difficult to address with standard clinical methods. Injured service members seen at these facilities are often young and highly fit at the time of their injuries. Their injuries include single and multiple limb traumas such as amputation, burns, and limb salvage. Despite the severity of these injuries and associated co-morbidities, these individuals commonly set rehabilitation goals that include a return to competitive sports and/or military duty. Deficits described by these individuals, that can limit the achievement of these goals, can be difficult to detect and quantify with conventional clinical measures. Novel VR-based assessments, developed by our clinical research team, have helped identify functional deficits across multiple domains using ecologically-valid tasks. Further, VR-based treatment applications have been designed to address these deficits and progress patients toward their goals. In general, we have found that service members following traumatic brain injury, amputation, and severe limb trauma demonstrate significant increases in function with VR therapies. These VR interventions are based on well-established therapeutic techniques and can be used to promote functional interactions with challenging environments while maintaining full safeties and controls.