Transferring the Movement of a Real Hand with Potential Measurement of the Finger Range of Motion

We present preliminary research on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) technology to measure finger range of motion to support the diagnosis and rehabilitation of hand diseases. The use of VR technology could make it possible to reliably store and quantify the data, which could be crucial in preclinical diagnosis and in the development of rehabilitation programs. The method is based on analyzing the position of the finger phalanges as seen in virtual reality. Using a VR application created in Unity, the movement of the phalanges of the hand was transferred to a block model for the DIP, PIP, and MCP joints. The results indicate that the technology-based method could be a promising alternative to traditional methods of measuring range of motion. The next stage of work will be to extend the application to the remaining fingers and validate the measurements using a glove with embedded inertia sensors. This approach could significantly affect the quality of diagnosis and rehabilitation of patients with hand movement disorders, opening up new research opportunities.