Co-design of virtual reality exergames for balance rehabilitation

Balance disorders, particularly in the elderly population, pose a significant public health challenge due to the associated risk of falls. Exercise-based therapies are effective for reducing this risk but face limitations like cost, accessibility, and sustaining patient engagement. By enabling personalized rehabilitation through engaging exergames, Virtual Reality (VR) offers a promising, cost-effective solution. This paper presents the collaborative design and preliminary evaluation of two VR-based games targeting specific balance skills. Developed in collaboration with a physiotherapist with extensive experience with patients with balance disorders, the games align with a rehabilitation protocol used by the therapist that categorizes training based on individual balance skills. Inspired by traditional physiotherapy exercises, the gameplay aims to train the same skills. Six health professionals agreed on the games’ therapeutic potential, while recommending improvements in usability, difficulty adjustment and monitoring of patient progress.