Integration of a virtual reality system with a FES-assisted trike for rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord injury.

This paper presents a first stage of integration between an immersive virtual reality (VR) system and a device assisted by Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) for cycling, with the ultimate goal of creating an interactive environment that improves the motivation and motor performance of patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). The complete system includes a virtual racing track environment created in Unreal Engine 5.4.4, a HTC Vive Pro 2 headset for user immersion, a stationary tricycle (trike) and an electrical stimulation circuit controlled via Bluetooth. Preliminary results showed a latency time between bytes of 4.5μs when transmitting from the PC to the stimulation circuit board and 6μs when receiving. These latencies had no effect on visual biofeedback. Furthermore, the analysis of the generated biphasic pulses showed small differences between the pulse parameters set in the VR interface and the received values in the stimulation circuit, indicating a reliable communication protocol between the systems.Clinical relevance- This study shows that the integration of virtual reality with FES-cycling requires a good response time and data synchronization so that biofeedback brings comfort and improves training adherence, optimizing motor recovery in patients with spinal cord injury.