26/02/2004, nocamels: 'Rehab Reality- Using VR To Overcome Injury, Illness & Even PTSD'

At Reuth Tel Aviv hospital using virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) to aid rehabilitation after injury or  illness

Dr. Oren Schwartz, manager of the day rehabilitation department at Reuth Rehabilitation Hospital, explains that rehabilitation is about restoring quality of life, primarily through healing the functioning of the human body. As such, he says, restoring that functioning is best carried out within a “real environment” rather than a hospital or another training facility.

“[Rehabilitation] should be done in a real habitat, in a real environment by new technologies, especially augmented reality and virtual reality…Augmented and virtual reality settings offer such an experience, and we can definitely create it”.

Of the two options, Schwartz tells NoCamels, augmented reality is better for rehab because it creates a “real environment” like a patient’s home, in which to carry out practical exercises such as lifting a cup.

“While practically there is no cup, there is an artificial cup, we teach him to do the correct movement in order to lift it”, he says.

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