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Expert Rev Med Devices 2021 May 7. Epub 2021 May 7.

Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, Rome, Italy.

: In rehabilitation practice, the term "feedback" is often improperly used, with augmented feedback and biofeedback frequently confused, especially when referring to the human-machine interaction during technologically assisted training. The absence of a clear differentiation among these categories represents an unmet need in rehabilitation, emphasized by the advent of new technologies making extensive use of video feedback, exergame and virtual reality.: In this review we tried to present scientific knowledge about feedback, biofeedback, augmented feedback and neurofeedback and related differences in rehabilitation settings, for a more proper use of this terminology. Read More

Front Psychiatry 2021 20;12:660105. Epub 2021 Apr 20.

Transitional Year Program, Garnet Health Medical Center, Middletown, NY, United States.

Neurofeedback (NFB) Therapy is a form of biofeedback, using the electroencephalogram (EEG) that has been in use since the 1970s, serving as a non-pharmacological intervention for epilepsy and psychiatric conditions such as anxiety, depression, insomnia, PTSD, post-concussive syndrome, and now, centralized pain. Chronic pain can increase neuronal activity and eventually causes poor modulation of pain messages. With the emergence of Virtual Reality (VR) in acute pain management, and the contraindications of opioids in chronic pain, applying novel biotechnologies seems like the next frontier in multimodal pain management. Read More

J Healthc Eng 2021 24;2021:5531176. Epub 2021 Mar 24.

Department of Plastic and Cosmetic Burn Surgery, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, Sichuan 637000, China.

Virtual reality (VR) is one of the hot spots in the computer network world in recent years, which has attracted more and more people's attention. This study mainly explores the effect of mitigating the psychological trauma of adult burn patients based on the VR technology of smart medical treatment. First, the EEG data are sent to the data processing module through a wireless protocol; then, the data processing module denoises the EEG data and performs feature extraction and feedback parameter calculation; after that, these parameters will be sent to the VR interaction engine; based on this, these parameters change the VR scene to capture and reflect the physiological activities of the patient's brain in real time; finally, the patient uses the VR scene content presented by the real-time feedback of the captured EEG signal as a guide to making self-adjustment in time, and the electrical signal of captured brain at this time is again transmitted to the next work cycle and continues to feed back and present new VR interactive scenes to guide and intervene in the patient's self-regulation behavior. Read More

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2021 Apr 22;9(4):e26038. Epub 2021 Apr 22.

Department of Computer Science & Software Engineering, College of Information Technology, Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Background: Connected mental health, which refers to the use of technology for mental health care and technology-based therapeutic solutions, has become an established field of research. Biofeedback is one of the approaches used in connected mental health solutions, which is mainly based on the analysis of physiological indicators for the assessment and management of the psychological state. Biofeedback is recommended by many therapists and has been used for conditions including depression, insomnia, and anxiety. Read More

Front Psychol 2021 12;12:586553. Epub 2021 Mar 12.

Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands.

As part of the Dutch national science program "Professional Games for Professional Skills" we developed a stress-exposure biofeedback training in virtual reality (VR) for the Dutch police. We aim to reduce the acute negative impact of stress on performance, as well as long-term consequences for mental health by facilitating physiological stress regulation during a demanding decision task. Conventional biofeedback applications mainly train physiological regulation at rest. Read More

Int J Paediatr Dent 2021 Mar 18. Epub 2021 Mar 18.

Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, SRM Dental College, Bharathi Salai, Ramapuram, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

Background: Local anaesthesia (LA) administration provokes dental anxiety in children. BrightHearts is a biofeedback relaxation application designed to reduce anxiety in children during painful procedural interventions.

Aim: To compare the effectiveness of biofeedback relaxation (BR) and audio-visual (AV) distraction on dental anxiety among 7- to 12-year-old children while administering LA. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 02 13;18(4). Epub 2021 Feb 13.

Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy.

Increasingly, refined virtual reality (VR) techniques allow for the simultaneous and coherent stimulation of multiple sensory and motor domains. In some clinical interventions, such as those related to spinal cord injuries (SCIs), the impact of VR on people's multisensory perception, movements, attitudes, and even modulations of socio-cognitive aspects of their behavior may influence every phase of their rehabilitation treatment, from the acute to chronic stages. This work describes the potential advantages of using first-person-perspective VR to treat SCIs and its implications for manipulating sensory-motor feedback to alter body signals. Read More

Hum Mov Sci 2021 Apr 23;76:102770. Epub 2021 Feb 23.

Robotics and Rehabilitation (ROAR) Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Columbia University, New York, United States; Department of Rehabilitation and Regenerative Medicine, Columbia University Valegos College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, United States. Electronic address:

This study investigated if training in a virtual reality (VR) environment that provides visual and audio biofeedback on foot placement can induce changes to spatial and temporal parameters of gait during overground walking. Eighteen healthy young adults walked for 23 min back and forth on an instrumented walkway in three different conditions: (i) real environment (RE), (ii) virtual environment (VE) with no biofeedback, and (iii) VE with biofeedback. Visual and audio biofeedback while stepping on virtual footprint targets appearing along a straight path encouraged participants to walk with an asymmetrical step length (SL). Read More

Front Hum Neurosci 2020 4;14:622637. Epub 2021 Feb 4.

Honors Tutorial College, Ohio University, Athens, OH, United States.

: The regulation of muscle force is a vital aspect of sensorimotor control, requiring intricate neural processes. While neural activity associated with upper extremity force control has been documented, extrapolation to lower extremity force control is limited. Knowledge of how the brain regulates force control for knee extension and flexion may provide insights as to how pathology or intervention impacts central control of movement. Read More

IEEE Trans Biomed Eng 2021 Feb 11;PP. Epub 2021 Feb 11.

Methamphetamine abuse is getting worse amongst the younger population. While there is methadone or buprenorphine harm-reduction treatment for heroin addicts, there is no drug treatment for addicts with methamphetamine use disorder (MUD). Recently, non-medication treatment, such as the cue-elicited craving method integrated with biofeedback, has been widely used. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2021 Feb 7;21(4). Epub 2021 Feb 7.

Department of Biomedical Engineering, Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA.

Sensory feedback from wearables can be effective to learn better movement through enhanced information and engagement. Facilitating greater user cognition during movement practice is critical to accelerate gains in motor function during rehabilitation following brain or spinal cord trauma. This preliminary study presents an approach using an instrumented glove to leverage sense of agency, or perception of control, to provide training feedback for functional grasp. Read More

PLoS One 2021 2;16(2):e0245068. Epub 2021 Feb 2.

Centre for Advanced Training Systems, Faculty of Health & Medicine, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia.

This paper describes the conceptual design of a virtual reality-based stress management training tool and evaluation of the initial prototype in a pilot efficacy study. Performance Edge virtual-reality (VR) was co-developed with the Australian Defence Force (ADF) to address the need for practical stress management training for ADF personnel. The VR application is biofeedback-enabled and contains key stress management techniques derived from acceptance and commitment and cognitive behavioural therapy in a modular framework. Read More

Front Robot AI 2020 9;7:81. Epub 2020 Jul 9.

Research Center of Cerebrovascular Pathology and Stroke, Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, Moscow, Russia.

In our study, we tested a combination of virtual reality (VR) and robotics in the original adjuvant method of post-stroke lower limb walk restoration in acute phase using a simulation with visual and tactile biofeedback based on VR immersion and physical impact to the soles of patients. The duration of adjuvant therapy was 10 daily sessions of 15 min each. The study showed the following significant rehabilitation progress in Control ( = 27) vs. Read More

Rev Med Suisse 2021 Jan;17(720-1):85-89

Faculté de biologie et de médecine, Université de Lausanne, 1005 Lausanne.

The Covid-19 pandemic has a major impact on psychiatry by its social consequences and possible direct effect of certain forms of Covid-19 on mental health. During this crisis, the accessibility of technology meets a state of necessity, which has propelled telepsychiatry from the shadows into the light. The contribution of several technologies (i. Read More

J Cent Nerv Syst Dis 2020 13;12:1179573520979866. Epub 2020 Dec 13.

Unit of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Department of Oral Medical Science and Biotechnology (DSMOB), "G. D'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.

Background: Telerehabilitation (TR) in chronic stroke patients has emerged as a promising modality to deliver rehabilitative treatment-at-home. The primary objective of our methodical clinical study was to determine the efficacy of a novel rehabilitative device in terms of recovery of function in daily activities and patient satisfaction and acceptance of the medical device provided.

Methods: A 12-week physiotherapy program (balance exercises, upper and lower limb exercises with specific motor tasks using a biofeedback system and exergaming) was administered using the WeReha device. Read More

Sci Rep 2020 12 30;10(1):22427. Epub 2020 Dec 30.

Chair of Applied Computer Science VIII, Institute of Computer Science, University of Bayreuth, 95447, Bayreuth, Germany.

It has been shown that mere observation of body discontinuity leads to diminished body ownership. However, the impact of body discontinuity has mainly been investigated in conditions where participants observe a collocated static virtual body from a first-person perspective. This study explores the influence of body discountinuity on the sense of embodiment, when rich visuomotor correlations between a real and an artificial virtual body are established. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2020 Dec 10;20(24). Epub 2020 Dec 10.

Faculty of Automatic Control and Computers, University POLITEHNICA of Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania.

This paper proposes a protocol for the acquisition and processing of biophysical signals in virtual reality applications, particularly in phobia therapy experiments. This protocol aims to ensure that the measurement and processing phases are performed effectively, to obtain clean data that can be used to estimate the users' anxiety levels. The protocol has been designed after analyzing the experimental data of seven subjects who have been exposed to heights in a virtual reality environment. Read More

Neurol Neurochir Pol 2021 14;55(1):91-96. Epub 2020 Dec 14.

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, General University Hospital and First Faculty of Medicine, Charles University, Albertov 7, 128 02 Prague 2, Czech Republic.

Aim Of The Study: To evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality therapy (VRT) Armeo Spring® upper limb exoskeleton (Armeo), in early post-stroke rehabilitation with a focus on the elderly.

Clinical Rationale For The Study: Convalescence from a stroke is a complex process driven by a spontaneous recovery supported by multifactorial activation. Novel technology-based rehabilitation methods are being introduced to support brain plasticity. Read More

Psychiatry Res 2021 01 24;295:113585. Epub 2020 Nov 24.

Department of Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. Electronic address:

Human evolution has regularly intersected with technology. Digitalization of various services has brought a paradigm shift in consumerism. Treading this path, mental health practice has gradually moved to Digital Mental Health Interventions (DMHI), to improve service access and delivery. Read More

J Back Musculoskelet Rehabil 2021 ;34(2):269-277

Department of Physical Therapy and Health Rehabilitation, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Alkharj, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Virtual reality training is commonly used for balance problems in neurological conditions with the use of visual and auditory biofeedback. The knowledge about the effective implementation of this training in chronic low back pain is lacking.

Objective: The objective of this study is to find the radiological and biochemical effects of virtual reality training in football players with chronic low back pain. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2020 Nov 19;20(22). Epub 2020 Nov 19.

School of Mechanical, Materials, Mechatronic and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

This present review includes a systematic search for peer-reviewed articles published between March 2009 and March 2020 that evaluated the effects of wearable devices with biofeedback on the biomechanics of running. The included articles did not focus on physiological and metabolic metrics. Articles with patients, animals, orthoses, exoskeletons and virtual reality were not included. Read More

Neuroimage 2021 02 19;226:117578. Epub 2020 Nov 19.

Australian Artificial Intelligence Institute, School of Computer Science, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo 2007, NSW, Australia.

Detecting and correcting incorrect body movements is an essential part of everyday interaction with one's environment. The human brain provides a monitoring system that constantly controls and adjusts our actions according to our surroundings. However, when our brain's predictions about a planned action do not match the sensory inputs resulting from that action, cognitive conflict occurs. Read More

PLoS One 2020 20;15(11):e0242416. Epub 2020 Nov 20.

Rehabilitation Medicine Unit, University Hospital of Rennes, Rennes, France.

Introduction: Illusion of movement induced by tendon vibration is an effective approach for motor and sensory rehabilitation in case of neurological impairments. The aim of our study was to investigate which modality of visual feedback in Virtual Reality (VR) associated with tendon vibration of the wrist could induce the best illusion of movement.

Methods: We included 30 healthy participants in the experiment. Read More

PLoS One 2020 11;15(11):e0241138. Epub 2020 Nov 11.

Department of Mechanical and Control Engineering, Handong Global University, Pohang, Republic of Korea.

We aim to investigate a control strategy for the circular tracking movement in a three-dimensional (3D) space based on the accuracy of the visual information. After setting the circular orbits for the frontal and sagittal planes in the 3D virtual space, the subjects track a target moving at a constant velocity. The analysis is applied to two parameters of the polar coordinates, namely, ΔR (the difference in the distance from the center of a circular orbit) and Δω (the difference in the angular velocity). Read More

Psychopathology 2020 9;53(5-6):254-263. Epub 2020 Nov 9.

Adult Outpatient Mental Health Center, Consorci Sanitari del Maresme, Hospital of Mataró, Mataró, Spain.

Evidence-based psychosocial interventions for borderline personality disorder (BPD) still face multiple challenges regarding treatment accessibility, adherence, duration, and economic costs. Over the last decade, technology has addressed these concerns from different disciplines. The current scoping review aimed to delineate novel and ongoing clinical research on technology-based psychosocial interventions for patients with BPD. Read More

BMJ Mil Health 2020 Oct 21. Epub 2020 Oct 21.

Academic Department of Military Rehabilitation, Defence Medical Rehabilitation Centre, Loughborough, UK.

Introduction: Correcting adverse biomechanics is key in rehabilitating musculoskeletal injuries. Verbal instruction remains the primary method for correcting biomechanics and therefore a patient's understanding of these instructions is believed to directly influence treatment outcomes. The aim of this study was to establish the patients' perceptions of virtual reality-based gait education (VR-GEd) and to assess its influence on the standard military rehabilitation outcomes. Read More

Elife 2020 10 7;9. Epub 2020 Oct 7.

Department of Mechanical Engineering and Laboratory for Computational Sensing and Robotics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States.

It is thought that the brain does not simply react to sensory feedback, but rather uses an internal model of the body to predict the consequences of motor commands before sensory feedback arrives. Time-delayed sensory feedback can then be used to correct for the unexpected-perturbations, motor noise, or a moving target. The cerebellum has been implicated in this predictive control process. Read More

Annu Int Conf IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc 2020 07;2020:2942-2945

Multisensory integration is the process by which information from different sensory modalities is integrated by the nervous system. Understanding this process is important not only from a basic science perspective but also for translational reasons, e.g. Read More

J Neuroeng Rehabil 2020 09 29;17(1):129. Epub 2020 Sep 29.

Geriatrics Research Group - Age and Technology Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Reinickendorfer Strasse 61, 13347, Berlin, Germany.

Background: Today immersive environments such as Virtual Reality (VR) offer new opportunities for serious gaming in exercise therapy and psychoeducation. Chronic back pain (CBP) patients could benefit from exergames in VR. The requirements in older CBP patients for a VR pain therapy have not yet been determined in studies. Read More

Curr Pain Headache Rep 2020 Sep 26;24(10):66. Epub 2020 Sep 26.

Department of Neurology, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.

Purpose Of Review: This narrative review examines the use of behavioral interventions for acute treatment of headache and pain in the emergency department (ED)/urgent care (UC) and inpatient settings.

Recent Findings: Behavioral interventions demonstrate reductions of pain and associated disability in headache, migraine, and other conditions in the outpatient setting. Behavioral treatments may be a useful addition for patients presenting with acute pain to hospitals and emergency departments. Read More