The Potential Value of Virtual Environments (VEs) in Rehabilitation

Abstract

The Potential Value of Virtual Environments (VEs) in Rehabilitation Virtual Environments (VEs) are computer-generated immersive, interactive simulations. These controlled settings can be designed to enable assessment and training of a wide variety of daily tasks, including those that are difficult to practice in the real-world for practical and safety reasons. The use of VEs has attracted increased interest as shown by increasing publications in the realm of rehabilitation. VEs are especially promising in the area of rehabilitation of instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Despite this recent growth in research, the use of these technologies lacks the validation necessary to establish them as standard practices in rehabilitation. Given the growing use and potential of VEs in rehabilitation, there is a need for specific guidelines to be established for the validity testing of these constructs.