Upper limb prosthetic evaluation using Virtual Reality
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Assessing users’ experience of upper limb prosthetics and a Virtual Reality (VR) experience to evaluate the acceptability of prosthetic designs
IRAS ID
148766
Contact name
Madelynne Arden
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Hallam University
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
AM/SW/7-2014, SHeffield Hallam University Research Ethics Committee
Research summary
There is an increasing awareness that amputees require different things from upper limb prosthetics. This might explain the high non-usage rates reported in the literature. In order to produce maximal satisfaction there needs to be a good match between the needs and expectations of the individual and the prosthetic design.
Virtual reality (VR) could enable users to try out prosthetic designs as part of a process of matching the prosthetic look and features to their individual needs. VR technology has progressed in recent years such that the most up to date systems offer a truely immersive experience in which head mounted displays provide a full field of view and movement is efficiently tracked. This offers an opportunity to utilise VR in the field of upper limb prosthetics.
We have brought together a multi-disciplinary team to develop and evaluate a prototype VR experience to test prosthetic designs.
This study aims to interview upper limb amputees about their current prostheses and then to offer them the VR experience to test out three prosthesis designs. We will then evaluate their experience of the VR and their views about the prosthetic designs that they will test within it.REC name
London - Riverside Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/1112
Date of REC Opinion
13 Jun 2014
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion