Medical VR
VR Physical Therapy
User Experience
Creative Technology
Thera VR is the virtual reality gamification of physical therapy for the treatment and holistic healing of children with neuromuscular diseases.
My Role
The Team
Project Duration
Collaboration
Project Lead
Ideation, user experience design, prototyping, level and lighting design, VR gamification, blueprinting
Khushi Bhatt, Andrea Castro Yanes, Yash Patel, Phoenix Hunt
September 2022 - March 2023
30 weeks
Immersive Reality |
User Experience Design
Awards & Recognitions
Gold Winner in UX, Interface & Navigation for Games
Gold Winner in Virtual Reality (VR) Design
Silver Winner in Interaction Design for Social Change
Silver Winner in Sound Design & Use of Music for Games
Silver Winner in Game Design for Social Change
The Problem
Symptoms of neuromuscular diseases are often aggravated by psychosomatic factors triggered by stress, environmental elements, loss of hope, and cognitive dissonance caused by the degradation of the body. And daily physical therapy for children is boring, repetitive and not engaging. In fact, it is often met with resistance that impairs their progress.
This project focuses on the target audience of children between the ages of 5-20 with neuromuscular diseases like Cerebral Palsy, Spastic Diplegia, Muscular Atrophy, etc.
The Solution
Providing children with neuromuscular diseases a virtual reality gamification of physical therapy for treatment and holistic healing, through an adventure of a lifetime by giving them the agency to foster independence and wonder, all while exercising targeted muscles to maintain muscle density and strength as well as delaying muscle atrophy and rekindling the playfulness of childhood!
We are approaching this by focusing on three pillars of physical therapy to articulate the basic movements of their daily routines.
Balance, Strength, Breathing.
Practice balance by skiing down the mountain
Practice strength & endurance by kayaking down the stream
Rest and restore by practicing breathing by at the edge of a serene lake
- We received a positive response to the project
-Expand the scope of the project includes several other neuromuscular diseases that share similar symptoms
-Great tool to produce dopamine
-Away to get patterns of movement activated before any activity
-Giving the patient an opportunity to be self sufficient and look forward to therapy
-Patients are encouraged to work on their balance and strength
-Most of the exercises focus on basic things focusing like muscle strength and postures
-Therapy is highly encouraged after diagnosis
-Most of the exercises can be guided for the patient to follow
We were mentored by 3 doctors and conducted several rounds of testing with physical therapists, trainers and doctors in order to get feedback on the executed movements, as well as the implementation of the experience in the medical field.
Key Insights
User Testing
Game Flow
Orthopedic doctor, Physical therapist, Trainers, Occupational therapist
Team of doctors
Children
Experience Breakdown
Skiing
This level targets the muscles of the trunk, back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. The arm motions encourage repeated dynamic movement that increases blood flow to the heart and arms, as well as improves coordination as the player dodges and avoids obstacles in the game. It inculcates controlled and slow movements rather than propulsive movements that may induce long term muscle damage.
Kayaking
This level aims to exercise the children’s heart, trunk, spine, arms and lower back muscles with a rowing motion to kayak down a stream. It increases endurance and muscle elasticity by repeated dynamic movements
Breathing
This level aims at relaxing the child after intense exercise by diaphragmatic breathing. This type of breathing helps improve posture, increases diaphragm and core strength as well as slows down respiration.
Take a peek at our user tests! Smiles, laughter and excitement!
