Rehabilitation is a vast field of research. Virtual and Augmented Reality represent rapidly emerging technologies that have the potential to support physicians in several medical activities, e.g., diagnosis, surgical training, and rehabilitation, and can also help sports experts analyze athlete movements and performance. In this study, we present the implementation of a hybrid system for the real-time visualization of 3D virtual models of bone segments and other anatomical components on a subject performing critical karate shots and stances. The project is composed of an economic markerless motion tracking device, Microsoft Kinect Azure, that recognizes the subject movements and the position of anatomical joints; an augmented reality headset, Microsoft HoloLens 2, on which the user can visualize the 3D reconstruction of bones and anatomical information; and a terminal computer with a code implemented in Unity Platform. The 3D reconstructed bones are overlapped with the athlete, tracked by the Kinect in real-time, and correctly displayed on the headset. The findings suggest that this system could be a promising technology to monitor martial arts athletes after injuries to support the restoration of their movements and position to rejoin official competitions.

Background: Guidelines for degenerative cerebellar ataxia neurorehabilitation suggest intensive coordinative training based on physiotherapeutic exercises. Scientific studies demonstrate virtual exergaming therapeutic value. However, patient-based personalization, post processing analyses and specific audio-visual feedbacks are not provided. This paper presents a wearable motion tracking system with recording and playback features. This system has been specifically designed for ataxic patients, for upper limbs coordination studies with the aim to retrain movement in a neurorehabilitation setting. Suggestions from neurologists and ataxia patients were considered to overcome the shortcomings of virtual systems and implement exergaming. Methods: The system consists of the mixed-reality headset Hololens2 and a proprietary exergaming implemented in Unity. Hololens2 can track and save upper limb parameters, head position and gaze direction in runtime. Results: Data collected from a healthy subject are reported to demonstrate features and outputs of the system. Conclusions: Although further improvements and validations are needed, the system meets the needs of a dynamic patient-based exergaming for patients with cerebellar ataxia. Compared with existing solutions, the mixed-reality system is designed to provide an effective and safe therapeutic exergaming that supports both primary and secondary goals of an exergaming: what a patient should do and how patient actions should be performed.

We investigated the Michelangelo effect, i.e. the facilitatory effect of a virtual art therapy in motor rehabilitation (Iosa et al. 2021), with a novel virtual reality paradigm in which users are engaged in motor exercises with 3D sculptures. In particular, thirty young adults were immersed in a virtual environment where they could sculpt, by using the real hands, some famous sculptures in the history of art, such as the David of Michelangelo, the Venus of Milo and the statue of Laocoon and His Sons, and their control stimuli, i.e. statues in very low resolution or cubes. We recorded the kinematics (length, the time to complete each trial, mean normalized jerk) and questionnaire answers (objective and subjective beauty, User Satisfaction Evaluation Questionnaire and Nasa Task Load Index). In general, we found that the perception of subjective and objective beauty was higher when sculpting the statues than control stimuli, the judgment of usability of the system was high. The perceived fatigue was not higher when sculpting the statues despite the longer time spent in completing the task that with respect to the control stimuli. Moreover, we found that the interaction with the experimental statues affected the fluidity and symmetry of hands movements. Finally, we discuss this evidence regarding the art therapy and neuroaesthetics principles for motor rehabilitation in the Metaverse with VR, including the possible role of virtual embodiment (illusory feeling to have a virtual body) for boosting the efficacy of the clinical applications.

Registries require standardized component libraries based on predefined taxonomies to ensure detailed and structured descriptions of implanted devices, enabling effective monitoring of implant safety. Considering the growing use of spinal implantable devices, we aimed to propose a comprehensive classification framework for spinal devices, to be integrated into the Italian Spine registry framework. The taxonomy was created using a detailed process that included reviewing existing literature, analyzing technical documents, selecting important device characteristics, obtaining feedback from manufacturers, and converting the information into a format suitable for IT systems. Our findings showed the lack of a globally accepted classification system. We identified four primary categories, further refined into subcategories, complemented by attributes for device identification, traceability, and characterization, then structured them using XSD schemas. Our proposal represents the first known attempt to implement a taxonomy for spinal implants, with the potential to serve as an international reference. A structured classification system would enhance registry interoperability, facilitate cross-registry comparability, and improve the early detection of adverse events, thereby strengthening patient safety and clinical outcomes. Furthermore, the adoption of a unified classification framework would improve surgeons’ clinical practice and support policymakers in developing early prevention strategies, ultimately improving patient care.