Title: A pilot evaluation of the practicality of the surrey virtual rehabilitation system: perspectives from end-users

Authors: Mohammad Al-Amri; Daniel Abásolo; Salim Ghoussayni; David Ewins

Addresses: School of Healthcare Studies, College of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Cardiff University, Heath Park, Cardiff, UK ' Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK ' Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK ' Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey, UK; Gait Laboratory, Queen Mary's Hospital, Roehampton, London, UK

Abstract: The Surrey Virtual Rehabilitation System (SVRS) was developed for clinical use in physiotherapy for children with cerebral palsy (CP). The overall aim of this work was to evaluate the practicality of the SVRS for three simple lower extremity exercises. Two children with CP, two clinical engineering trainees and a physiotherapist performed the tests whilst parents and a paediatric physiotherapist observed the exercise sessions. The feedback collected during an open-discussion and the descriptive analysis of responses to 15 closed-ended questions suggest that the participants were satisfied with the practicality of the SVRS. Outcome measures derived from data collected during the sessions indicate that the SVRS may provide clinically relevant feedback on the performance of patients for themselves and their treating clinicians. In conclusion, the SVRS appears practical for rehabilitation purposes and is worthy of further evaluation and development.

Keywords: SVRS; Surrey virtual rehabilitation system; cerebral palsy; hip flexion; knee flexion; flexion exercises; obstacle clearance exercises; child physiotherapy; children; clinically relevant feedback; patient performance; clinician performance.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBET.2014.060989

International Journal of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, 2014 Vol.15 No.1, pp.29 - 44

Received: 07 Nov 2013
Accepted: 21 Mar 2014

Published online: 21 Oct 2014 *

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