RGU lands funding for Parkinson’s Augmented Reality project

Traditional rehabilitation is often time limited and requires patients to undertake their rehabilitation unsupervised at home.  Lack of supervision, and feedback alongside low motivation can limit the impact and or effectiveness of the rehabilitation programme.

AR offers a new approach to rehabilitation with users wearing special glasses allowing them to take part in a number of interactive games and activities independently at home. The AR rehabilitation approach can set motivational goals and provide user feedback on their task specific performance.

Parkinson’s UK have funded the two-year study lead by Dr Julie Jones from RGU and is a collaborative project including Dr Angus MacLeod from the University of Aberdeen,  and Dr Will Young from the University of Exeter.

Dr Julie Jones said: “I am sure a lot of people have seen these headsets being used by people to play computer games, but there is a real opportunity for this to be used to benefit the Parkinson’s community. It is exciting and innovative and could lend itself to a much wider clinical trial which is so important as we try and find ways to help people with Parkinson’s.

“We are also very grateful to Parkinson’s UK for their generous funding to make this research project a reality and to explore whether this technology benefits walking and balance among people living with Parkinson’s."

James Jopling, Scotland Director for Parkinson’s UK, said: “It’s always fantastic to see investment in research in Scotland and particularly exciting in this case where it is creative and innovative research into non-drug approaches that will play a vital part in helping people living with Parkinson’s to manage their daily challenges better.

“It’s essential that people with Parkinson’s can access all the support they need, like physiotherapists. However, their time with these professionals can be limited. What’s so promising about this study is that it will allow people with Parkinson’s to, in effect, access physiotherapy through augmented reality. 

"This has the potential to greatly improve mobility and access to support, which is a problem for so many people living with the condition.”

The research team will work alongside people with Parkinson’s to gauge the potential of this technology on their walking and balance and it will inform the development of a larger clinical trial.

UK technology firm Stroll are the company behind the development of Reality DTx®. This is a Class I registered medical software application for wearable AR glasses providing Parkinson’s-specific visual and auditory compensation strategies and gamified rehabilitation exercises.

The headsets feature a number of interactive games which are aimed at improving balance and walking and include Puzzle Walk and Hot Buttons. The games can be tailored to fit the needs of individual patients.

The research team are recruiting participants for the study from the Grampian region. Anyone interested in taking part is asked to contact Dr Julie Jones via j.c.jones@rgu.ac.uk.

Main image: Dr Julie Jones with one of the headsets