Networked virtual environments and rehabilitation.

Virtual environments (VE) have been shown to be a powerful tool for various forms of rehabilitation. Currently, VE has been used in psychological training, motor recovery, visual relearning, and pain reduction during physical therapy. VE's use is also being explored in stroke rehabilitation coupled to robots, posture control in labyrinthine deficit patients, tele-rehabilitation and in other areas. Expanding VE's influence is its coupling with high-speed networking [tele-immersion]. Current experimental networks have speeds approaching 100 Gb/sec. At these speeds the network bandwidth rivals that of the internal connections of a PC (i.e., bus speed). Accordingly, these new networks will permit various peripherals attached to computers on this network to be connected together and act as fast as if connected to a local PC. This innovation may soon allow the development of previously unheard of networked rehabilitation systems. This presentation will discuss various forms of VE that are currently available for rehabilitation. Furthermore, we will explain the characteristic of these new networks. Finally, we will examine how such networks might be used for extending the rehabilitation clinic to remote areas.