Upper Extremity Task Performance Analysis Using Virtual Reality Post Spinal Cord Injury

Date of Award

5-9-2026

Degree Name

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering

Department

Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Advisor/Chair

Megan Reissman

Abstract

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a prevalent injury that affects motor function and can inhibit activities of daily living (ADL). People with higher level injuries are reliant on upper extremity function, and will often participate in physical therapy to improve mobility and strength. Personalized interventions are important for SCI rehabilitation, however, there are many challenges in creating personalized programs. Virtual reality (VR) is a useful tool for rehabilitation because it can create custom physical therapy games that target upper extremity movements while being are enjoyable and motivating. This study explores the use of VR in creating personalized interventions for people with SCI with custom therapeutic levels designed for upper extremity motion. A goal of this study was to assess task performance and learning effects across multiple visits and difficulties, as well as effects of arm dominance. Another goal was to assess torso movement across different level types, task positions, and side dominance. Individuals with SCI (n=7) played the commercially available VR game Beat Saber, and participated in five visits, with two repetitions of levels played during each visit. Participants progressed through level difficulty over the course of the five visits. Game data like task cut performance and extracted VR sensor data like torso movement were collected for each task within the levels played. Normative population performance was also collected for comparison. Results showed that the participant cut performance would get worse on a new visit, but improve when doing multiple repetitions within the same visit. While the dominant arm always had a better performance than the non-dominant arm, the non-dominant arm still showed improvement within a visit. Finally, SCI population had a lower cut performance than the Normative population on almost all difficulties. Results showed that the Torso Endurance level promotes a high peak torso shift, while the Torso Alternating level promotes a high range of motion. While the dominant side always had a better performance than the non-dominant side, participants were able to engage both sides, showing improvements in their non-dominant side. The SCI population had similar torso shift to the Normative population with some differences seen in their dominant and non-dominant sides. This study highlights the effectiveness of VR for SCI rehabilitation, demonstrating the use of game metrics to characterize task performance.

Keywords

Biomechanics, Engineering, Mechanical Engineering

Comments

OCLC No. 1591829825

Rights Statement

Copyright 2026, author.

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