Développement et validation d’un système de modulation visuelle et proprioceptive de la marche en réalité immersive

Abstract

Scoliosis is a disease that affects many adolescents. It has many consequences, particularly on the quality of life of patients who sometimes see their respiratory capacity reduced and cannot carry out simple daily activities. Follow-up with medical physiotherapy is necessary to maintain joint range of motion, strengthen the trunk muscles and therefore improve posture. It can last for many years, therefore, the patient's motivation during rehabilitation is essential. Some treatments, including global postural rehabilitation, have shown their effectiveness in improving posture and pain, however none have shown their effectiveness for scoliosis specifically, but none are done dynamically. Virtual reality is a tool increasingly used in rehabilitation. In addition to allowing the patient to have real-time feedback, embodiment through an avatar can lead to a modification of human behavior beneficial to rehabilitation. Moreover, the use of vibration patterns to induce sensory illusions is increasingly common. The objective of this study is to quantify the impact of the incarnation of an avatar whose posture is modulated, combined with proprioceptive stimulation, on the trunk kinematics of healthy participants during walking on a treadmill. Thirty healthy participants were recruited for this study. Four experimental conditions distinguished by the use of virtual reality, the use of vibrations at the trunk level or even the combination of both were proven by a questionary and kinematic measurements. The analysis of the results showed that proprioceptive stimulation alone had no effect on embodiment and that the combination of the two stimulations did not generate stronger embodiment but that it remained high throughout the experiment. Finally, the few significant differences observed concerning the orientation and amplitude of the trunk in relation to the pelvis between the different periods of recordings during the stimulation rotations of each experimental condition do not allow us to conclude that the stimulations have an effect on the trunk posture of the participants. It would be necessary to explore the whole-body kinematics of the participants to know if there is a global response. It would also be interesting to compare these results in the same study with walking at a lower speed.

Date	19 Dec 2023
Original language	French
Awarding Institution	École de technologie supérieure
Supervisor	David Labbé (Supervisor) & Cyril Duclos (Co-supervisor)