Modelling of therapeutic action during mirror therapy

Abstract

Background and purpose: In patients with pathology of one limb, mirror therapy (MT) uses the mirror reflection of the unaffected side to improve function of the affected limb [1]. There is some evidence that Virtual Reality (VR) can substitute the real mirror [2]. To create a standardised VR based mirror therapy as a self-training, several steps of conceptual considerations are essential. The purpose of this project was to understand the therapeutic action of standardised MT and thus to pave the way for a partially automated VR based MT to be executed as a self-training. Methods: A principle of motor learning, called Shaping, is anchored in two existing standardised MT protocols (BeST & BeSTEP) [3, 4]. To understand the shaping process within MT, shaping items and criteria were extracted from the protocols. Additionally, a questionnaire and participatory observation during MT sessions were performed and standardisation rules by means of documentation sheets of MT units were analysed. Results and conclusion: The knowledge about the shaping process during conventional MT, especially in the BeST phase is currently not sufficient to derive machine learning and therefore to create an automated system at this time. Further conceptual investigations to gather this information are necessary and projected.