Optimizing a Home-based Virtual Reality Exercise Program for Chronic Stroke Patients: A Telerehabilitation Approach

Stroke is a leading cause of death and long-term disability worldwide and its incidence is on the rise. Importantly, loss of arm function occurs in up to 85% of stroke survivors, with a significant long-term impact on activities of daily living, leisure activities and work. The capacity for recovery following a stroke depends on several factors, including the extent of the initial neurological damage, spontaneous recovery and rehabilitation, with possible recovery even years after the stroke. Unfortunately, accessibility of much needed rehabilitation services poststroke often remains limited, both in terms of intensity and duration, as reported in a recent report on post-stroke rehabilitation services in Quebec. Recent evidence suggests that homebased telerehabilitation (TR) is a viable approach for upper limb training post-stroke when rehabilitation services are not available. Similarly, the Canadian Best Practice Recommendations for Stroke Care update for 2013 recommends home-based patient monitoring be used when frequent monitoring is needed and face-to-face visits are not available. Hence, the investigators have developed and propose to examine the use of the VirTele system for people who have suffered a stroke who are no longer receiving rehabilitation services The VirTele system allows upper limb rehabilitation using exergames with ongoing off-line monitoring combined with online monitoring and coaching based on the self-determination theory.