Virtual reality systems in occupational therapy after stroke

Sicherl, Zorana (author), Bogataj, David (author)

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability, often impairing motor, cognitive, and functional abilities, which reduces quality of life. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as a promising tool in stroke rehabilitation, providing immersive and interactive environments that support recovery. This review examines the effects of VR-based occupational therapy (OT) on occupational performance, motor function, and cognitive outcomes in individuals following a stroke. VR enables repetitive, task-specific practice in safe, controlled settings and has been shown to enhance daily living skills, especially during chronic recovery. VR-based mirror therapy may further improve motor function and dexterity, complementing conventional OT. Additionally, VR can support cognitive and emotional rehabilitation by enhancing attention, memory, and motivation while reducing depressive symptoms. Integrating VR into OT for stroke rehabilitation promotes physical and cognitive engagement and may increase therapy adherence. However, challenges remain, such as skill transfer to real-world contexts, protocol variability, accessibility, and cost. Further research is needed to refine VR applications, improve ecological validity, and assess long-term effectiveness to support its broader integration into standard OT practice for stroke rehabilitation.

• Language: English
• Keywords: embedded computer control systems, stroke, occupational therapy, virtual reality, rehabilitation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.02 - Review Article
• Organization: ZF - Faculty of Health Sciences
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Publication date: 01.01.2025
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 162-167
• Numbering: Vol. 59, iss. 27
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-177407
• UDC: 615.82/.84:004.5
• ISSN on article: 2405-8963
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ifacol.2025.12.096
• COBISS.SI-ID: 262436611
• Publication date in RUL: 22.12.2025

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: IFAC papersOnline
• Publisher: International Federation of Automatic Control
• ISSN: 2405-8963
• COBISS.SI-ID: 18995734

Licences

• License: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
• Description: The most restrictive Creative Commons license. This only allows people to download and share the work for no commercial gain and for no other purposes.

Projects

• Funder: ARIS - Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency
• Project number: L7-60163-2025
• Name: Regionalni model mrež socialne infrastrukture za oskrbo starejših v skupnosti in institucijah, vključujoč planiranje človeških virov