Applications of Head-Mounted Displays for Virtual Reality in Adult Physical Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review.

Importance: Head-mounted displays for virtual reality (HMD-VR) may be used as a therapeutic medium in physical rehabilitation because of their ability to immerse patients in safe. controlled. and engaging virtual worlds. Objective: To explore how HMD-VR has been used H adult physical rehabilitation. Data Sources: A systematic search of MEDLINE. Embase. Cochrane Library. CINAHL. Web of Science. PsycINFO. and ERIC produced 11,453 abstracts. of which 777 underwent full-text review. Study Selection and Data Collection: This sowing review includes 21 experimental studies that reported an assessment or intervention using HMD-VR in a physical rehabilitation context and within the scope of occupational therapy practice. Findings: HMD-VR was used for assessment and intervention for patients with a range of disorders including stroke multiple sclerosis. spinal cord injury, and Parkinson's disease. Conclusions and Relevance: HMD-VR is an emerging technology with many uses in adult physical rehabilitation. Higher quality clinical implementation studies are needed to examine effects on patient outcomes. What This Article Adds: We review existing research on how immersive virtual reality (e.g., using head-mounted displays) has been used for different clinical populations in adult physical rehabilitation and highlight emerging opportunities in this field for occupational therapists.