Fatigue Detection Model for Upper Limb Rehabilitation in Virtual Reality

This paper presents a model designed for the detection of fatigue in an immersive Virtual Reality (VR) environment tailored for the rehabilitation of individuals with spinal cord injuries. The primary focus of this model is its application to the Box & Block test, which is intended to assist healthcare professionals in assessing patient progress. The conceptual basis of the model involves data fusion through Ordered Weighted Averaging (OWA) operators, which consolidate various metrics collected by the VR rehabilitation system employed. In addition, Fuzzy Logic is used to assess fatigue levels specific to each patient. The information presented to the therapist includes a comprehensive fatigue report with a fatigue classification output and a video component that serves as a graphical representation highlighting key instances of fatigue during the performance of the prescribed exercises. Experimental results are presented to test the output of the model against participants’ perceived fatigue during the tests.