OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of different forms of virtual reality (VR) treatments as either immersive virtual reality (IVR) or non-immersive virtual reality (NIVR) in comparison to conventional therapy (CT) in improving physical and psychological status among stroke patients. METHODS: The literature search was conducted on seven databases. ACM Digital Library, Medline (via PubMed), Cochrane, IEEE Xplore, Web of Science, and Scopus. The effect sizes of the main outcomes were calculated using Cohen's d. Pooled results were used to present an overall estimate of the treatment effect using a random-effects model. RESULTS: A total of 22 randomized controlled trials were evaluated. 3 trials demonstrated that immersive virtual reality improved upper limb activity, function and activity of daily life in a way comparable to CT. 18 trials showed that NIVR had similar benefits to CT for upper limb activity and function, balance and mobility, activities of daily living and participation. A comparison between the different forms of VR showed that IVR may be more beneficial than NIVR for upper limb training and activities of daily life. CONCLUSIONS: This study found out that IVR therapies may be more effective than NIVR but not CT to improve upper limb activity, function, and daily life activities. However, there is no evidence of the durability of IVR treatment. More research involving studies with larger samples is needed to assess the long-term effects and promising benefits of immersive virtual reality technology.

翻译：目的：评估不同形式的虚拟现实（VR）治疗（包括沉浸式虚拟现实（IVR）与非沉浸式虚拟现实（NIVR））相较于常规疗法（CT）在改善脑卒中患者生理与心理状态方面的疗效。方法：在七个数据库（ACM Digital Library、Medline（通过PubMed检索）、Cochrane、IEEE Xplore、Web of Science及Scopus）中进行文献检索。主要结局指标的效应量采用Cohen's d计算。使用随机效应模型合并结果以呈现治疗效应的总体估计。结果：共评估22项随机对照试验。其中3项试验表明，沉浸式虚拟现实在上肢活动能力、功能及日常生活活动方面的改善效果与常规疗法相当。18项试验显示，非沉浸式虚拟现实在上肢活动与功能、平衡与移动能力、日常生活活动及参与度方面具有与常规疗法相似的益处。不同形式虚拟现实的比较表明，对于上肢训练及日常生活活动，沉浸式虚拟现实可能比非沉浸式虚拟现实更具优势。结论：本研究发现，在改善上肢活动能力、功能及日常生活活动方面，沉浸式虚拟现实疗法可能比非沉浸式虚拟现实更有效，但与常规疗法相比未显示出显著优势。然而，目前尚无证据表明沉浸式虚拟现实治疗的疗效具有持久性。未来需要更多大样本研究以评估沉浸式虚拟现实技术的长期效应及其潜在益处。