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Virtual Reality for Physical Therapy
Use Cases, Software Architecture, and Costs
Having 35 years of experience in immersive software development, ScienceSoft guarantees professional VR app development.
The Essence of VR for Physical Therapy
Implementation of VR solutions helps healthcare professionals improve patient engagement thanks to gamification of physical therapy, achieve better results in the rehabilitation, and up patient satisfaction.
VR for Physical Therapy: Market Overview
The VR market in healthcare was estimated at $628 million in 2022 and is projected to grow to $6.2 billion by 2029, exhibiting a CAGR of 38.7%. The Goldman Sachs Group lists physical therapy as the 2nd major use case for VR in healthcare due to its effectiveness in providing advanced patient care at reduced costs.
How Virtual Reality for Physical Therapy Works
Architecture
The common architecture of VR physical therapy software includes the following elements:
- A web administration panel used for editing therapy scenarios, adding new patient profiles to the database, and uploading new 3D visual assets.
- Data storage with therapy exercise scenarios, 3D graphic elements, and patient profiles.
- A VR application.
The VR app comprises multiple modules, responsible for:
- Processing of input data, received from a microphone, motion/touch controllers and haptic gloves.
- Visual, audial, and sensory output generation.
- Load of 3D visual assets, audio/video data, and any supplementary material (such as guiding notes in the text form).
- Simulation of physics laws in the virtual environment.
- Playback of physical therapy exercise scenarios.
- Recording, analysis, and evaluation of patients’ performance.
Use cases
General orthopedics
VR therapy for alleviating pain and improving agility of post-surgery patients or those with broken bones and sprained ligaments.
Sports injuries
Virtual exercises to recover from or prevent ACL tears, hip flexor strains, tennis elbows, and other sports-related injuries. Allows athletes to restore muscle strength and enhance reaction time even when they are on tour.
Neuroregeneration therapy
Physical therapy for patients with neurological conditions (multiple sclerosis, neuropathy, fibromyalgia) that improves balance and coordination. Effectively reduces motor defects while minimizing physical damage risks.
Age-specific exercises
Physical therapy for regular pediatric or geriatric care. Prevents child body growth issues (e.g., scoliosis) and assists elderly people in avoiding joint stiffness.
Adaptation to assistive devices or prosthetics
Virtual training of using canes and walkers or practice of controlling artificial limbs.
Functionality
Remote instructor presence
A physical therapist can virtually join a VR therapy session to provide firsthand guidance.
Individual therapy programs
Collections of exercises composed by a physical therapist. Can be edited manually (by a therapist) or automatically (on certain reached goals that were recorded by the system).
Gamified progress
Virtual achievements for reaching specific therapy goals, aimed at improving patients’ motivation.
Performance analytics
Automatic real-time analysis of the way each exercise is performed. In case of inconsistencies with the built-in standards, the system’s AI voices or displays a note with adjustment recommendations.
The Technology Stack of VR Physical Therapy Software
Virtual Reality for Physical Therapy: Success Stories
KineQuantum
A French startup, founded by a physical therapist, created a solution with 60 ready-made exercises for patients with rheumatologic, orthopedic, traumatological, and related health problems. After using the company’s VR solution, patients report from 50% to 80% pain and discomfort reduction.
What’s more, the patients report that exhausting therapy sessions are perceived differently in VR and say that 20 minutes of VR-based exercising felt like only 10 minutes.
Neurological Recovery Center
After integrating virtual reality (VR) into its physical therapy sessions, the clinic has seen improvements in patient engagement and rehabilitation progress. Physicians highlight how the technology reduces muscle stiffness by shifting the patients’ focus from the exercise to their virtual surroundings and engaging tasks. This allows them to perform movements they struggle with in real life.
Challenges of VR for Physical Therapy
Challenge
Both physical therapists and patients may lack tech skills, which can make the VR solution quite challenging to use.
Check out the solution
Cost of VR for Rehabilitation
General cost drivers
- Number and complexity of physical therapy exercises.
- Number of user roles (individual or group physical therapy).
Additional costs
- VR hardware (Tethered HMD: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index; Smartphone-compatible viewers: Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, Google Daydream View; Standalone HMD: Lenovo Mirage Solo.)
- Development of AI algorithms for smart performance assessment.
Operational costs
- Cloud services (price depends on the provider’s pricing policy).
On average, the cost of VR software for physical therapy varies from $200,000 to $300,000 based on ScienceSoft’s experience.
Want to know the cost of your VR rehabilitation solution?
VR for Physical Therapy: Consulting and Development by ScienceSoft
With over 35 years of experience in developing low-latency immersive software, ScienceSoft offers professional consulting and development services for VR for physical therapy. You set goals, we drive the project to fulfill them in spite of time and budget constraints, as well as changing requirements.
Consulting on VR for physical therapy
- VR software requirements list.
- Long-term release roadmap.
- Scalable VR architecture design.
- Technology stack definition.
- Hardware/software integration planning.
- Risk management planning.
Development of VR for physical therapy
- Physical therapy VR solution planning.
- VR architecture planning.
- UX and UI design.
- 3D model design.
- VR development and testing.
- Hardware/software integration.
- Continuous support and evolution.
What makes ScienceSoft different
Driving success in healthcare IT projects no matter what
ScienceSoft develops healthcare IT solutions that reduce care delivery costs and improve outcomes, no matter the challenges posed by diverse expectations of medical staff, shifting priorities, and resistance to change.
About ScienceSoft
ScienceSoft is a software development and IT consulting company founded in 1989 and based in McKinney, TX. We cater to the healthcare industry by developing various medical software, including VR for physical therapy. Being ISO 13485-certified, we guarantee our VR software's compliance with the requirements of the FDA and the Council of the European Union.
