Evaluation of Motor Performances of Hemiplegic Patients Using a Virtual Cycling Wheelchair : An Exploratory Trial

Cycling is known to be an effective rehabilitation exercise for hemiplegic patients who face difficulty during walking because of stroke or other brain disorders. A cycling wheelchair (CWC) is a useful tool to provide exercise for these patients and improve their quality of life. In previous studies...

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Published inComputational and Mathematical Methods in Medicine Vol. 2013; no. 2013; pp. 1 - 6
Main Authors Sugita, Norihiro, Yoshizawa, Makoto, Kojima, Yoshihisa, Abe, Makoto, Homma, Noriyasu, Seki, Kazunori, Handa, Nobuyasu
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Cairo, Egypt Hindawi Puplishing Corporation 01.01.2013
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Hindawi Limited
Subjects
Aged
Algorithms
Automatic Data Processing
Bicycling
Disabled Persons
Electronic Data Processing
Equipment Design
Exercise
Exercise Therapy
Exercise Therapy - methods
Female
Healthy Volunteers
Hemiplegia
Hemiplegia - rehabilitation
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Motor Skills
Reproducibility of Results
Research Article
Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted
Stroke
Stroke - physiopathology
Wheelchairs
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ISSN1748-670X
1748-6718
1748-6718
DOI10.1155/2013/512965

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Summary:Cycling is known to be an effective rehabilitation exercise for hemiplegic patients who face difficulty during walking because of stroke or other brain disorders. A cycling wheelchair (CWC) is a useful tool to provide exercise for these patients and improve their quality of life. In previous studies, our group developed a system that allows patients to safely practice driving a CWC in a virtual environment. However, it has been difficult to check their motor performances and determine the effects of the exercise on a daily basis. This study is an exploratory trial for developing a method to evaluate the motor performances of users based on their CWC pedaling patterns. An experiment with some hemiplegic patients and healthy subjects was conducted and their pedaling patterns were analyzed. Results showed a significant difference between the hemiplegic patients and healthy subjects in an index that reflects pedaling balance between the feet. This result indicates a possible method of evaluating the motor performances of users based on their pedaling patterns.
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Academic Editor: Takashi Watanabe
ISSN:1748-670X
1748-6718
1748-6718
DOI:10.1155/2013/512965