Tracking the evolution of virtual reality applications to rehabilitation as a field of study.

Background: Application of virtual reality (VR) to rehabilitation is relatively recent with clinical implementation very rapidly following technological advancement and scientific discovery. Implementation is often so rapid that demonstrating intervention efficacy and establishing research priorities is more reactive than proactive. This study used analytical tools from information science to examine whether application of VR to rehabilitation has evolved as a distinct field of research or is primarily a methodology in core disciplines such as biomedical engineering, medicine and psychology.

Building an ontology for assistive technology using the Delphi method.

The aim of this study was to use the Delphi method to develop and validate an ontology for one class of assistive technology (AT), namely physically controllable pointing devices. A three-round, structured process consisting of responses to a series of questionnaires was used to identify items and categories of importance to pointing device prescription from six occupational therapists with AT expertise. The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to assess the interrater reliability of items included in categories related to the pointing devices and to the user profile by the six experts during each Delphi round.

Assessment of computer task performance (ACTP) of children and youth with intellectual and developmental disability.

The aims of this study were to assess the reliability and validity of the Arabic translation of the Assessment of Computer Task Performance (ACTP) when used for children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) and to determine the relationship between participants' performance when using an adapted pointing device and the teacher's satisfaction of their performance. Thirty boys and girls, Arabic speakers, 6- 21 years old, who had moderate IDD, participated in the study. Two expert occupational therapists used the ACTP to evaluate the performance of five standardized timed computer tasks.

Prolonged exposure and virtual reality-enhanced imaginal exposure for PTSD following a terrorist bulldozer attack: a case study.

In this case study, virtual reality was used to augment imaginal exposure in a protocol based on prolonged exposure. A 29-year-old male patient developed posttraumatic stress disorder after surviving a deadly terrorist bulldozer attack on two civilian buses and several cars in Jerusalem; the traumas witnessed by the survivor included a decapitation. The crowded bus in which the patient was riding was pushed over onto its side by the terrorist, injuring, trapping, and terrifying the passengers and causing gasoline to leak.

Evaluating functional decline in patients with Multiple Sclerosis.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a disease with a wide-ranging impact on functional status. The aim of the study was to examine the added value of simultaneously evaluating fatigue, personal ADL and handwriting performance as indicators for functional decline among patients with MS. Participants were 50 outpatients with MS and 26 matched healthy controls.

Introduction to the special issue from the proceedings of the 2006 International Workshop on Virtual Reality in Rehabilitation.

New technologies are rapidly having a great impact on the development of novel rehabilitation interventions. One of the more popular of these technological advances is virtual reality. The wide range of applications of this technology, from immersive environments to tele-rehabilitation equipment and care, lends versatility to its use as a rehabilitation intervention.

The influence of seat adjustment and a thoraco-lumbar-sacral orthosis on the distribution of body-seat pressure in children with scoliosis and pelvic obliquity.

Purpose: To determine the effect of a thoraco-lumbar-sacral orthosis (TLSO) on the distribution of body-seat interface pressure in children with concomitant scoliosis and pelvic obliquity and to determine the effects of two methods commonly used in customized seating--elevation (push up) of the lower side of the pelvis or a wedge insertion beneath the raised pelvis--on the distribution of body-seat interface pressure.

Methods: The study population comprised 15 children with an underlying neuromuscular disorder. All had scoliosis and pelvic obliquity when seated, and used a TLSO during sitting.