Feasibility and usability of a virtual-reality-based sensorimotor activation apparatus for carpal tunnel syndrome patients

Kishor Lakshminarayanan; Rakshit Shah; Sohail R Daulat; Viashen Moodley; Yifei Yao; Srignana Lokesh Ezhil; Vadivelan Ramu; Puja Sengupta; Deepa Madathil

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0292494

Feasibility and usability of a virtual-reality-based sensorimotor activation apparatus for carpal tunnel syndrome patients

PLoS One. 2023 Oct 11;18(10):e0292494. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0292494. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Kishor Lakshminarayanan¹, Rakshit Shah², Sohail R Daulat³, Viashen Moodley⁴, Yifei Yao⁵, Srignana Lokesh Ezhil¹, Vadivelan Ramu¹, Puja Sengupta¹, Deepa Madathil⁶

Affiliations

¹ Neuro-rehabilitation Lab, Department of Sensors and Biomedical Engineering, School of Electronics Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
² Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering, Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, United States of America.
³ University of Arizona College of Medicine-Tucson, Tucson, AZ, United States of America.
⁴ Arizona Center for Hand to Shoulder Surgery, Phoenix, AZ, United States of America.
⁵ Soft Tissue Biomechanics Laboratory, Med-X Research Institute, School of Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China.
⁶ Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences, O. P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.

Abstract

Purpose: This study aimed to assess the usability of a virtual reality-assisted sensorimotor activation (VRSMA) apparatus for individual digit rehabilitation. The study had two main objectives: Firstly, to collect preliminary data on the expectations and preferences of patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) regarding virtual reality (VR) and an apparatus-assisted therapy for their affected digits. Secondly, to evaluate the usability of the VRSMA apparatus that was developed.

Methods: The VRSMA system consists of an apparatus that provides sensory and motor stimulation via a vibratory motor and pressure sensor attached to a button, and a virtual reality-based visual cue provided by texts overlaid on top of a 3D model of a hand. The study involved 10 CTS patients who completed five blocks of VRSMA with their affected hand, with each block corresponding to the five digits. The patients were asked to complete a user expectations questionnaire before experiencing the VRSMA, and a user evaluation questionnaire after completing the VRSMA. Expectations for VRSMA were obtained from the questionnaire results using a House of Quality (HoQ) analysis.

Results: In the survey for expectations, participants rated certain attributes as important for a rehabilitation device for CTS, with mean ratings above 4 for attributes such as ease of use, ease of understanding, motivation, and improvement of hand function based on clinical evidence. The level of immersion and an interesting rehabilitation regime received lower ratings, with mean ratings above 3.5. The survey evaluating VRSMA showed that the current prototype was overall satisfactory with a mean rating of 3.9 out of 5. Based on the HoQ matrix, the highest priority for development of the VRSMA was to enhance device comfort and usage time. This was followed by the need to perform more clinical studies to provide evidence of the efficacy of the VRSMA. Other technical characteristics, such as VRSMA content and device reliability, had lower priority scores.

Conclusion: The current study presents a potential for an individual digit sensorimotor rehabilitation device that is well-liked by CTS patients.

Copyright: © 2023 Lakshminarayanan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Carpal Tunnel Syndrome*
Feasibility Studies
Hand
Humans
Reproducibility of Results
Virtual Reality*

Grants and funding

This research was supported by the Department of Science and Technology, India (Grant number SRG/2021/000283) awarded to KL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.