Over the past six months, we have tested the v-health platform with 15 stroke and spinal cord injury patients, as well as over 30 therapists. These trials provided invaluable insights, enabling us to refine our solution and address the specific needs and preferences of both patients and clinicians. Below, we share some of the early positive outcomes from these tests.

Findings From v-health Early Feasibility Studies

Stroke recovery is often an uphill battle. With over 100,000 new cases each year in the UK alone, 60% of survivors experience upper limb weakness [1]. Traditional rehabilitation offers 8 minutes of upper limb therapy daily, 10 times less than the recommended dose [2]. This gap leaves many patients with chronic impairments, struggling to regain mobility and independence.

What is v-health?

v-health is our upper-limb neurorehabilitation platform combining patented Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) wearable, extended reality (XR), and gamification. The all-in-one solution aims to redefine recovery through an immersive, engaging, and personalised approach.

v-health evolved from fitness into healthcare designed for muscle re-education. Built with simplicity and usability in mind, v-health connects real-time muscle interaction with XR-based gamified exercises, enabling:

Synchronisation of FES and movement in real-time.
Gamified therapy sessions to enhance patient adherence.
Customisable settings through personalised intensity control and real-time adjustment
One-hand operation, making it accessible even for individuals with reduced mobility.

v-health combines patented Functional Electrical Stimulation (FES) wearable, extended reality (XR), and gamification.

The Science Behind v-health

XR has been used for fitness and stroke rehabilitation [3-4]. XR and gamification have the potential to enhance patient adherence, improving rehabilitation outcomes for stroke rehab while being accepted by patients. FES is an established technique for muscle training [5] and muscle re-education that can be used in stroke rehabilitation [6].

We’re working towards combining these technologies to improve stroke rehabilitation.

XR boosts patient motivation by offering immersive, gamified tasks that encourage limb movements.
Meanwhile, FES stimulates the muscles, enhancing neural activity along motor pathways.
Together, they create a powerful neuroplasticity-inducing system, following Hebb’s rule: "Neurons that fire together, wire together."

Recent research underscores this potential. Studies show that pairing brain stimulation with FES enhances recovery outcomes, strengthening neural pathways and boosting motor function. By gamifying this process, v-health encourages participation and maximises therapeutic benefits.

Early Feasibility Studies

The progress of tests, amount of different games, and various neurological conditions.

v-health’s feasibility studies were conducted with 14 neurological patients, including stroke survivors and individuals with spinal cord injuries (SCI), in four clinics: the University of Ghent Hospital in Belgium, Hobbs Rehabilitation, Neurokinex and Relive in the UK.

Patients, aged 40 to 70, presented varying levels of upper limb impairment and muscle tone with an MRC scale* between 0 and 4.

The Setup

Patients were equipped with our patented FES device, eir bands targeting wrist extensor and flexor muscles. They played six games over sessions ranging from 3 to 15 minutes, tailored to improve wrist, hand, finger, and shoulder mobility.

These included:

1 Mobile Game (Raccoon Rush)
4 XR Games (Fishing, Building Blocks, Phoenix, Air Hockey)
1 XR Game without FES (Bubbles)

Patient Feedback

Feedback was overwhelmingly positive. Patients praised the immersive XR experience and the gamified exercises.

Highlights include:

Comfortable XR Use → No reports of motion sickness.
Acceptance of FES → 13 out of 14 patients experienced no discomfort beyond the expected sensations of electrical stimulation.
High Engagement → Most patients preferred XR games over mobile games, as the former provided direct feedback between their movements and the FES.
Home Use Potential: Patients expressed enthusiasm for using v-health at home, emphasising the convenience for those with limited mobility.

Clinician Feedback

Therapists praised its user-friendly setup and the flexibility to adjust parameters in real time.
Suggestions for improvement included adding:

Pre-game assessments to tailor sessions.
Audio instructions for better guidance.
Logs to track patient progress.

Clinicians also highlighted the platform’s promise for home-based rehabilitation, calling it "innovative" and "extremely valuable."

What’s Next for v-health?

These inputs led to iterative improvements, including new games and features, enhancing patient experience and therapy outcomes. However, the early feasibility studies underscore v-health’s potential as a transformative tool in neuromuscular recovery.

Our plans include:

Conducting detailed case studies to quantify therapeutic outcomes.
Exploring the platform’s efficacy across diverse demographics.
Expanding the range of games and applications to cater to varying levels of impairment.

As we push the limits to refine v-health, our vision remains clear: to provide accessible, effective, and engaging rehabilitation.

*Medical Research Council (MRC) Muscle Scale - A scale for grading muscle strength or power from 0 to 5, with 5 being normal and 0 being no visible contraction.

[1] Current, future and avoidable costs of stroke in the UK - Stroke Association by Anita Patel, Vladislav Berdunov, Derek King, Zahidul Quayyum, Raphael Wittenberg, Martin Knapp

[2] Serrada I, McDonnell MN, Hillier SL. What is the current practice for upper limb rehabilitation in the acute hospital setting following a stroke? A systematic review. NeuroRehabilitation. 2016 Jul 15;39(3):431-8. doi: 10.3233/NRE-161374. PMID: 27589513.

[3] Hoolahan, K., Isakov, I., & Chan, K. C. (2024). An Investigation into the Effects of Virtual Reality and Electrical Muscle Stimulation on Mood, Exertion and Muscular Fatigue. International Journal of Virtual Reality, 24(1), 46-78.

[4] Soleimani M, Ghazisaeedi M, Heydari S. The efficacy of virtual reality for upper limb rehabilitation in stroke patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2024 May 24;24(1):135.

[5] National Clinical Guideline for Stroke for the UK and Ireland - c/o Sentinel Stroke National Audit Programme (SSNAP) King’s College London

[6] Khan MA, Fares H, Ghayvat H, Brunner IC, Puthusserypady S, Razavi B, Lansberg M, Poon A and Meador KJ (2023) A systematic review on functional electrical stimulation based rehabilitation systems for upper limb post-stroke recovery. Front. Neurol. 14:1272992

A New Path in Stroke Recovery