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Applied Sciences
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Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare
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Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Computing and Artificial Intelligence".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 June 2025 | Viewed by 1783

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Vassilis Charissis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Arts and Creative Industries (SACI), Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh EH10 5DT, UK
Interests: HCI; VR; AR; gait analysis; emerging interaction technologies

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Submissions are now open for a Special Issue entitled “VR in Healthcare”.

Virtual Reality (VR) and other immersive Technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Mixed reality (MR) have emerged as transformative technologies with the potential to revolutionize patient care, medical training, and therapy. By immersing users in realistic, interactive simulations, VR enables medical professionals to enhance diagnosis, treatment, and surgical planning. It is also able to enhance medical education for healthcare professionals, and improve pain management, rehabilitation, and mental health treatment for patients, providing immersive environments and telemedicine options that increase inclusiveness and transcend physical limitations.

This Special Issue of Applied Sciences, entitled “Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare”, encompasses a wide array of thematic areas, reflecting the interdisciplinary nature of utilizing VR technology in healthcare. These technologies are not limited to VR but include all immersive technologies and their intersection with other disciplines.

In this Special Issue, we welcome submissions exploring cutting-edge research and recent advances in healthcare, and the contribution of immersive technologies (VR/AR/MR).

Both theoretical and experimental studies are welcome, as well as comprehensive reviews and survey papers. The following keywords offer an indication of the scope of this Special Issue.

  • Clinical applications
  • Medical training
  • Patient training and consent
  • Diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation
  • Pain management,
  • Patient/user experience and engagement
  • User interaction (UI) in VR healthcare
  • User experience (UX) for VR healthcare
  • Immersive technologies and AI applications in healthcare
  • Telemedicine and remote care
  • Mental health and wellbeing
  • Gamification
  • Inclusivity
  • Social impact

Prof. Dr. Vassilis Charissis
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • virtual reality (VR)
  • augmented reality (AR)
  • mixed reality (MR)
  • healthcare

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

26 pages, 8227 KiB  
Article
Enhancing Robotic-Assisted Lower Limb Rehabilitation Using Augmented Reality and Serious Gaming
by Calin Vaida, Gabriela Rus, Paul Tucan, José Machado, Adrian Pisla, Ionut Zima, Iosif Birlescu and Doina Pisla
Appl. Sci. 2024, 14(24), 12029; https://doi.org/10.3390/app142412029 - 23 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1304
Abstract
Stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson’s disease are some of the conditions that can lead to neuromotor disabilities requiring rehabilitation. To address the socio-economic burden that is amplified by the rapidly increasing elderly population, traditional rehabilitation techniques have recently been complemented by [...] Read more.
Stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), and Parkinson’s disease are some of the conditions that can lead to neuromotor disabilities requiring rehabilitation. To address the socio-economic burden that is amplified by the rapidly increasing elderly population, traditional rehabilitation techniques have recently been complemented by technological advancements, particularly Robot-Assisted Therapy (RAT). RAT enhances motor learning by improving both accuracy and consistency. This study proposes an innovative rehabilitation system that combines serious gaming and augmented reality (AR) with the LegUp parallel robot, developed for the spatial rehabilitation of the hip, knee, and ankle in bed-ridden patients. The system aims to improve patient outcomes and actively involve patients in their therapy. Electro-goniometers and a HoloLens 2 device are used to provide immediate feedback about the position of the patient’s joints, forming the basis of an interactive game in which the patient moves their leg to reach various targets. Two game modes were developed, each targeting different aspects of neuromotor rehabilitation, such as coordination, strength, and flexibility. Preliminary findings suggest that combining RAT with augmented reality-based serious gaming can increase patient motivation and engagement. Furthermore, the personalized and interactive nature of the therapy holds the potential to improve rehabilitation outcomes by fostering sustained engagement and effort. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Virtual Reality (VR) in Healthcare)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Figure 1
<p>The movements targeted by the LegUp parallel robot in lower limb rehabilitation treatment.</p> Full article ">Figure 2
<p>Kinematic scheme of the LegUp robot; Hip and knee module (green rectangle) and ankle module (orange rectangle).</p> Full article ">Figure 3
<p>Experimental model of the parallel robot and its components.</p> Full article ">Figure 4
<p>The control architecture for the LegUp rehabilitation robot.</p> Full article ">Figure 5
<p>Robot-Assisted Therapy setup integrating the LegUp rehabilitation robot (1), The control system (2), The User interface with the control’s commands for the parallel robot, streaming from HoloLens and graphics from sensors (3), Biometrics sensors placed on the patient’s leg (4), HoloLens 2 device (5).</p> Full article ">Figure 6
<p>Schematic representation of the proposed system for serious gaming based on augmented reality.</p> Full article ">Figure 7
<p>The pseudo-code for the HoloLens application.</p> Full article ">Figure 8
<p>(<b>a</b>) Football Mode: the patient interacts with a ball, simulating a football scenario; user interface (left); the range of motion of the robot-hip duction/abduction (red area). (<b>b</b>) Color Mode: the patient interacts with colors. The task requirements are displayed as a message and are also communicated via audio (in the HoloLens device).</p> Full article ">Figure 9
<p>(<b>a</b>) The representation of the robot limits for hip flexion/extension (beige), abduction/adduction (red), and ankle flexion/extension (blue). (<b>b</b>) The user interface where the therapist can choose between two treatment modes: simple motion mode for isolated movements like hip abduction/adduction, a combined motion mode for complex, multi-joint exercises, and a mix between the game modes.</p> Full article ">Figure 10
<p>Positive Feedback in the Gaming Interface: key aspects of the game’s positive feedback system, where a personalized “Well Done!” message and an animation are displayed after the patient successfully completes a task (hitting the correct color target).</p> Full article ">Figure 11
<p>Calibration of the sensors. Both the traditional and the biometric goniometer display the identical values.</p> Full article ">Figure 12
<p>The placement of twin-axis goniometers at the hip and ankle and a single-axis goniometer at the knee.</p> Full article ">Figure 13
<p>The graphical output from the Biometrics device (8 input channels), where the angles measured at the hip are transmitted on channels 1 and 2, the knee on channel 3, and the ankle on channels 5 and 6. Channel 4 is not used, while channels 7 and 8 remain inactive.</p> Full article ">Figure 14
<p>Methodology for Personalizing Robotic-Assisted Rehabilitation with Real-Time Feedback.</p> Full article ">Figure 15
<p>Path representation during the functional validation tests: blue color—target trajectory; green color—scenario 1 trajectory (good target path following); red color—scenario 2 trajectory (poor target following with no system correction); black color—scenario 3 trajectory (poor target following with system correction).</p> Full article ">Figure 16
<p>Standard deviation for scenario 1 (blue), scenario 2 (orange), and scenario 3 (yellow).</p> Full article ">Figure 17
<p>Stages of Patient Interaction in Robotic-Assisted Rehabilitation with HoloLens 2.</p> Full article ">Figure 18
<p>Stages of Patient Interaction in Robotic-Assisted Rehabilitation with HoloLens 2.</p> Full article ">
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