Comparison of reaching and grasping kinematics in patients with hemiparesis and in healthy controls in virtual and physical environments

Kinematics of reaching and grasping movements to physical and virtual objects placed on a table in front of the body midline were compared in 10 healthy and 12 hemiparetic subjects post-stroke. Despite minor differences in performance variables (movement time, arm trajectory) and joint ranges, arm and hand movement patterns were similar in the two environments. Differences may be due to attributes of the VR environment. Relevance to rehabilitation will be discussed.