Virtual Reality Applications for Prevention, Disability Awareness, and Physical Therapy Rehabilitation in Neurology: Our Recent Work

&NA; Virtual reality (VR) is a relatively new technology that may be useful for physical therapists working in neurology. In this paper our recent work related to the development and evaluation ofVR applications for demonstrating transfer of training, improvement of spatial memory, teaching disability awareness, prevention of pedestrian injuries, and improvement of balance is discussed. Our experiences as researchers in this area are discussed including collaboration with industry and the limitations and strengths of the technology. Our research and the research of others have shown that skills can be learned in VR, that these skills can transfer to similar tasks in the real world, that patient (consumer) involvement is essential in making VR environments meaningful, and that collaboration with industry requires special knowledge and skills. We conclude that VR has a future in neurologic physical therapy but that it may be some time before strong evidence for each possible application is available to clinicians. As this evidence becomes available, VR may provide physical therapists with interesting and innovative ways to extend evaluation and treatment in neurology.