An Evaluation of VR Games and Haptic Feedback for Upper Limb Rehabilitation for Individuals with Parkinson’s Disease

Three-dimensional virtual reality (VR) games incorporating haptic feedback were developed to support upper-limb rehabilitation in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Three interactive games: fishing, archery, and mining, were designed to simulate resistance, tension, and vibration using a haptic device, thereby encouraging motor tasks such as pulling, lifting, and lateral maneuvers. Both individuals with PD and healthy participants completed structured sessions, with performance measured through task completion time, scores, and movement trajectories, alongside perceived workload via the NASA-TLX. Results showed that higher haptic resistance levels reduced tremor amplitude by up to 10.55% in participants with PD and improved task completion efficiency by an average of 12.4% across games. These findings demonstrate the potential of personalized haptic feedback to stabilize motor control and enhance performance in VR-based rehabilitation. Importantly, individuals with PD demonstrated improved motor control under moderate haptic resistance, indicating the potential of adjustable haptic feedback for tailoring rehabilitation. These findings underscore the value of VR-haptic games as engaging and adaptable rehabilitation tools, supporting personalized interventions for individuals with PD.