Validation of a lower-limb tracking system in virtual reality and possibilities for its commercial use in healthcare

In the Czech Republic, as well as across Europe, the number of joint replacements performed (so-called total arthroplasty), especially of the knee and hip joints, is significantly increasing, primarily due to the aging population and sedentary lifestyle. To improve patients' quality of life, the importance of rehabilitation and physiotherapy of the lower limbs after surgery or another orthopedic procedure is likewise growing substantially. New spa and balneological treatment methods combined with the possibilities of virtual reality allow for adaptation and rehabilitation based on tracking the patient's movement and evaluating individual progress, which will lead to maximizing the overall effect of rehabilitation and spa treatment.

The main goal of the project, which ILaB is carrying out in cooperation with XR Institute, s.r.o., is the technical completion and subsequent testing of internal sensors, and the creation and testing of a tracking sensor that will enable the monitoring of lower-limb movements in virtual and augmented reality.

By implementing innovative spa and rehabilitation methods and procedures, which may even be unique (for example, precisely through the use of virtual and augmented reality), they can increase their competitiveness on the market. At the same time, by using modern technologies, they can attract greater interest from the younger generation in spa medicine and new rehabilitation methods.