Expanding Phantom Limb Pain Treatment Possibilities Using Robot Assisted Virtual Reality System

  • Dimante, D. (Speaker)
  • Peter Snow (Co-author)
  • Marco Sinisi (Co-author)
  • Rui Loureiro (Co-author)

Activity: Talk or presentation types › Oral presentation

Description

Phantom limb pain (PLP) is a phenomenon that is recognised in amputees, brachial plexus (BPI) and spinal cord injury (SCI) individuals. Additional to PLP there usually are coexisting complex pain patterns and sensory disturbances. Previous Aspire CREATe clinical trials demonstrate encouraging results in decreasing PLP in amputees using robot assisted Virtual Reality (VR) exercises. Subsequently trial is extended to larger group of individuals suffering from complex pain and PLP. . The robotic VR system acts as mirror box therapy. Participants see first person avatar with [missing] limb. Residual muscle contractions provide avatar’s movement through electromyograph. The affected limb [stump] is supported by robotic haptic feedback system to facilitate movement. Individuals participate in VR sessions performing tabletop exercised with cubes. This comprise of 9 sessions each 2 hours long in 3-week period. Three different sub-type participants were selected for this trial – amputee (x1), BPI (x2) and SCI (x1). Pain was evaluated with McGill questionnaires. Robot kinematic data was used to evaluate quality and range of movement.. All participants reported diminishing of pain. No negative effects were noted. Amputee reported 50% improvement (31.5 out of 5 McGill pain score). BPI participants reached 33-50% reduction in pain score (42 and 32) and further stable pain level of 2 in follow-up weeks 3 and 9. SCI participant had 100% of pain reduction (20), but pain returned to baseline on follow-up. Increase in range of movement was noted in all participants.. This data demonstrates significant short- and long-term reduction of pain using non-invasive robotic assisted VR technique. This study shows the promising tendences of extended use of this treatment modality in wider range of nerve injury patients suffering from complex PLP. This technique is deemed safe and effective.
Period29 Mar 2023
Event titleRSU International Research Conference 2023: Knowledge for Use in Practice
Event typeConference
OrganiserRīga Stradiņš University
LocationRiga, LatviaShow on map
Degree of RecognitionInternational

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