JMIR Rehabilitation and Assistive Technologies

Between 30% to 76% of COVID-19 patients have persistent physical and mental symptoms, sometimes up to 9 months after acute COVID-19. Current rehabilitation is mostly focused on the physical symptoms, whereas experts have agreed on the need for a biopsychosocial approach. A novel approach such as virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation at home might benefit patients and therapists, especially considering the expected rush of patients with post–COVID-19 condition needing rehabilitation.

Approximately 50 million people worldwide are living with dementia. Social robots have been developed and tested to determine whether they improve the quality of life for persons with dementia. A new mobile social robot called LOVOT has artificial intelligence and sensor technologies built in. LOVOT, which is manufactured in Japan, has not yet been tested for use by persons with dementia.

Noninvasive ventilation has been demonstrated to benefit people who have moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease during acute exacerbations. Studies have begun to investigate the effectiveness of noninvasive ventilation during pulmonary rehabilitation to improve outcomes for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease; however, the lack of portability and humidification of these devices means their use is limited, especially when performing activities of daily living. A new prototype device, RACer-PAP (rest-activity cycler-positive airways pressure), delivers battery-operated positive airway pressure via a nasal interface while regulating nasal airway apportionment bias, removing the need for supplementary humidification. This device may offer people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease an improved ability to participate in pulmonary rehabilitation and activities of daily living.

The number of mobile health (mHealth) apps released for musculoskeletal (MSK) injury treatment and self-management with home exercise programs (HEPs) has risen rapidly in recent years as digital health interventions are explored and researched in more detail. As this number grows, it is becoming increasingly difficult for users to navigate the market and select the most appropriate app for their use case. It is also unclear what features the developers of these apps are harnessing to support patient self-management and how they fit into clinical care pathways.

Mixed reality is an emerging technology that allows us to blend virtual objects into the actual user’s environment. This can be realized using head-mounted displays. Many recent studies have suggested the possibility of using this technology to support cognition in people with neurodegenerative disorders (NDs). However, most studies have explored improvements in cognition rather than in independence and safety during the accomplishment of daily living activities. Therefore, it is crucial to document the possibility of using mixed reality to support the independence of older adults in their daily lives.

Telerehabilitation for musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions may produce similar or better outcomes than usual care, but most telerehabilitation studies address only chronic or postsurgical pain.

Exergames are increasingly being used among survivors of stroke with chronic upper extremity (UE) sequelae to continue exercising at home after discharge and maintain activity levels. The use of virtual reality exergames combined with a telerehabilitation app (VirTele) may be an interesting alternative to rehabilitate the UE sequelae in survivors of chronic stroke while allowing for ongoing monitoring with a clinician.

Exercise and education is recommended as first-line treatment by evidence-based, international guidelines for low back pain (LBP). Despite consensus regarding the treatment, there is a gap between guidelines and what is offered to patients. Digital LBP treatments are an emerging way of delivering first-line treatment.

With the increasing adoption of high-speed internet and mobile technologies by older adults, digital health is a promising modality to enhance clinical care for people with knee osteoarthritis (KOA), including those with knee replacement (KR).

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has required social, health, and rehabilitation organizations to implement remote physiotherapy (RP) as a part of physiotherapists’ daily practice. RP may improve access to physiotherapy as it delivers physiotherapy services to rehabilitees through information and communications technology. Even if RP has already been introduced in this century, physiotherapists’ opinion, amount of use, and form in daily practice have not been studied extensively.

Measuring and modifying movement-related joint loading is integral to the management of lower extremity osteoarthritis (OA). Although traditional approaches rely on measurements made within the laboratory or clinical environments, inertial sensors provide an opportunity to quantify these outcomes in patients’ natural environments, providing greater ecological validity and opportunities to develop large data sets of movement data for the development of OA interventions.

As a sequela of the COVID-19 pandemic, a large cohort of critical illness survivors have had to recover in the context of ongoing societal restrictions.