The study results are being presented at the 8th World Congress for Neurorehabilitation in Istanbul.
VirtualRehab is a product for the physical rehabilitation of patients with neurological diseases and disorders based on Virtual Reality technology.
The study was developed by the Basque Foundation of Multiple Sclerosis and the Neurorehabilitation Department of the University of Navarra Clinic.
The 8th World Congress for Neurorehabilitation will take place between the 8th to the 12th of April in Istanbul, Turkey, coinciding with the 4th National Congress of Turkish Society of Physical Medicine. An event which brings together rehabilitation specialists from around the world and deals with clinical trials, international studies, innovations in the principal fields of neurorehabilitation including traumatic brain injuries, Multiple Sclerosis, Acquired Brain Injury, and other neurodegenerative diseases and disorders.
A large number of experts and key opinion leaders will join in this program by taking part in a great variety of conferences, workshops and poster presentations. At this edition, Dr. Manuel Murie, Director of the Neurorehabilitation Department of the University Clinic of Navarra and President of the Spanish Society of Neurology, will present the results obtained from the clinical study called Virtual Reality Games combined with normal rehabilitation are an effective alternative in MS patients.
The study by the Eugenia Epalza Basque Multiple Sclerosis Foundation and the Department of Neurology of the University of Navarra show the advantages of using VirtualRehab during a continuous period of time with MS patients. The results obtained from the trial show a significant improvement in various body functions of the patients especially in static and dynamic balance, fatigue levels and in their level of functional independence.
With VirtualRehab the physiotherapist is able to plan and edit the sessions which allows them to work the different affected functions of each patient through various videogames. VirtualRehab is not only aimed at Multiple Sclerosis but also at other types of neurodegenerative, neuromuscular and neurovascular diseases, such as Parkinson´s disease, brain injury, Alzheimer´s disease, Stroke, dystrophies, and even at the elderly to help improve mobility. The solution was recently endorsed by the Spanish Society of Neurology, and to date, patients have logged more than 5.400 game sessions and over 500 hours on VirtualRehab®.
THE RESULTS
The clinical study was carried out with 20 Multiple Sclerosis patients who used VirtualRehab twice per week during 4 months. Some of the highlights of the study were:
– 13% of the patients showed an improvement in the Functional Independence Measure scale (FIM)
– 40% of patients improved their balance according to the Berg Scale
– 20 % of the patients had an improvement in the Tinetti scale, in both balance and gait.
– 47% of the patients showed improvements in their levels of fatigue.
Additionally, this study allowed produced other interesting data with 27% of the patients reducing their levels of anxiety and 13% reducing their levels of depression according to the HAD scale (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale).
Regarding results with the game itself, 100% of the patients improved their times in finishing the games, 86% of them improved upon their scores and an 85% improved their percentage of accuracy of reaching targets.
The study concludes that VirtualRehab is an effective tool combined with traditional rehabilitation for treating MS patients.
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