Examining the feasibility of immersive virtual reality to measure upper limb motor performance in typically developing children and adolescents

Abstract

Over the last five years, virtual reality (VR) has become more popular in pediatric physiotherapy. In this study, we assessed the feasibility and acceptability of measuring upper-limb movements in typically-developing children and adolescents using an immersive virtual reality (iVR) headset. Thirty-six typically-developing children (age: 12 ± 2.1 y) were recruited and required to draw circles in a custom-built virtual environment using a Meta-Quest-2 headset. Outcomes were the System Usability Scale (SUS), Developmental Coordination Disorder-Questionnaire (DCD-Q), and three metrics of circle drawing performance (movement time, mean velocity and circle roundness). The mean score for the SUS was 74 ± 11, indicating good levels of acceptability and usability when the participants used the headset. No strong relationships were observed between the circle drawing metrics and DCD-Q scores (rho = < 0.3, p = > 0.05), but circle roundness ratios were positively and significantly correlated with SUS scores (rho = 0.5, p = 0.003). No adverse effects associated with iVR use were reported for any participants. This study showed that iVR is a viable method to measure upper-limb motor performance in children and adolescents, highlighting the potential value of this tool in pediatric physiotherapy practice.