Investigating patient engagement during physiotherapy using EEG

Stroke care is the fourth biggest killer in England and Wales, and the third in Scotland and Northern Ireland. There are over 1.2 million stroke survivors in the UK; 80% suffer from motor impairment, and 74% require long-term support with basic daily activities. Motor function can be improved with physical therapy. Research indicates that in the UK stroke survivors do not receive the recommended amount of therapy. The reasons are complex but include costs and availability of physiotherapists.
Emerging technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR), offer a potential long-term cost-effective method of providing support to healthcare professionals. One approach is to use Time-of-Flight (ToF) cameras (e.g. Microsoft Kinect) for human pose estimation and motion tracking to enable accurate assessment of patients. These systems offer a way for patients to complete rehabilitation exercises at home. It also gives real-time feedback to encourage patients to stick with their rehabilitation programmes.
Other emerging technologies, such as Virtual Reality (VR), have also been researched as a method of assisting rehabilitation efforts. In a VR environment, the interactions taking place can much more closely represent real life as opposed to traditional computing systems. The idea is that encouraging more lifelike interactions, with exercises mimicking Activities of Daily Living (ADL), can not only provide substantial support for standard rehabilitation regimens but also increase patient engagement.
Nevertheless, assessing the difference made by physiotherapy and other rehabilitation methods remains unreliable. One study looked at the differences between patient self-assessment, physical therapist assessment and posturographic measures when assessing patient performance. Findings indicate that current methods of assessment suffer from a lack of objectivity and are likely affected by biases.
Electroencephalograms (EEG) have been utilised to measure brain activity throughout...