Virtual Rehabilitation of Lower Extremities

The paper presents a kinematic model of a human body and a corresponding graphic representation of the human figure in virtual reality. The model was developed in order to visualize the movements of the subject in a real-time virtual environment on a large display, which represented a virtual mirror. An optical system with active markers was used to assess the movements of the subjects. We conducted an experiment with 10 healthy adults performing a stepping-inplace test in a virtual environment by tracking the motion of a reference virtual figure, which represented the virtual instructor. Both figures, the training subject and virtual instructor, were superimposed and shown from the desired angle of view. It was our aim to study the abilities of immersion and adaptation to the reference movements through the virtual mirror. The results of this preliminary investigation include basic kinematic and temporal parameters of the stepping movements, providing quantitative evaluation and comparison of the subjects’ performance.