virtual reality

Virtual Reality (VR) technology offers interesting possibilities for Parkinson's disease therapy. University of Southern California engineers are teaming with researchers and VR game designers to help Parkinson’s patients walk steadily with confidence, creating a VR application called Overcome. Traditional physiotherapy is centered around strength training, stretching, and movement practice, usually in a clinic setting. However, studies have shown that activity performed in the context of the environment, like say, stepping over an obstacle, aids long-term retention in motor skills far more than simply being told to lift one’s foot. This game, in an immersive virtual reality setting, offers the player ...

Parkinson’s Disease features this week: World Parkinson’s Day awareness around the globe; boxing helps a husband get his wife back from Parkinson’s grip; bionic assistance for raising a middle finger as a PD salute; a young onset PD perspective on bucket lists; virtual reality training for balance; detecting early stage Parkinson’s with a selfie (and not just because the camera is shaking); people with Parkinson’s in the UK are tired of people thinking they are drunk; and more. Thursday, April 11 was World Parkinson’s Day 2019, a day on which various organizations try to draw public awareness to issues surrounding ...