Stroke patients often experience upper limb impairments that restrict their mobility and daily activities. Physical therapy (PT) is the most effective method to improve impairments, but low patient adherence and participation in PT exercises pose significant challenges. To overcome these barriers, a combination of virtual reality (VR) and robotics in PT is promising. However, few systems effectively integrate VR with robotics, especially for upper limb rehabilitation. This work introduces a new virtual rehabilitation solution that combines VR with robotics and a wearable sensor to analyze elbow joint movements. The framework also enhances the capabilities of a traditional robotic device (KinArm) used for motor dysfunction assessment and rehabilitation. A pilot user study (n = 16) was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness and usability of the proposed VR framework. We used a two-way repeated measures experimental design where participants performed two tasks (Circle and Diamond) with two conditions (VR and VR KinArm). We observed no significant differences in the main effect of conditions for task completion time. However, there were significant differences in both the normalized number of mistakes and recorded elbow joint angles (captured as resistance change values from the wearable sleeve sensor) between the Circle and Diamond tasks. Additionally, we report the system usability, task load, and presence in the proposed VR framework. This system demonstrates the potential advantages of an immersive, multi-sensory approach and provides future avenues for research in developing more cost-effective, tailored, and personalized upper limb solutions for home therapy applications.

翻译：中风患者常出现上肢功能障碍，导致活动能力受限及日常生活困难。物理治疗（PT）是改善功能障碍最有效的方法，但患者依从性低、参与度不足等问题构成重大挑战。为克服这些障碍，将虚拟现实（VR）与机器人技术结合应用于物理治疗具有广阔前景。然而，目前能有效整合VR与机器人技术的系统较少，特别是在上肢康复领域。本文提出一种新型虚拟康复方案，通过融合VR、机器人技术及可穿戴传感器分析肘关节运动。该框架还增强了传统运动功能障碍评估与康复设备（KinArm）的功能。我们开展了一项包含16名受试者的初步用户研究，评估所提VR框架的有效性与可用性。采用双因素重复测量实验设计，受试者在两种条件（VR与VR KinArm）下完成两项任务（圆形与菱形）。结果显示，任务完成时间的主效应条件间无显著差异，但圆形与菱形任务在标准化错误次数和肘关节角度（通过可穿戴袖套传感器记录的阻力变化值）上均存在显著差异。此外，我们报告了所提VR框架的系统可用性、任务负荷及存在感。该系统验证了沉浸式多感官方法的潜在优势，为开发更具成本效益、个性化及家庭适用的上肢康复方案提供了未来研究方向。