The challenge we were solving

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, many patients required ongoing rehabilitation—both in hospital and at home. Com@Rehab responded to this challenge by integrating linguistics, health literacy, motor rehabilitation, virtual reality, and game development to create a digital solution that improves health communication and supports recovery.

The result: an interactive VR game designed to assist in motor rehabilitation for post-COVID patients, combining clear language, movement analysis, and engaging interaction.

Project partners

Project goals

  1. Develop a virtual reality game to support the motor rehabilitation of post-COVID-19 patients.
  2. Improve communication between technology and users by integrating verbal and non-verbal interaction.
  3. Apply principles of health literacy and linguistics to ensure instructions are clear and patient-friendly.
  4. Test usability and adapt difficulty levels based on patient performance and progress.

 

Our role

Value for Health CoLAB contributed its expertise in:

  • Health literacy to improve linguistic and terminological clarity in patient instructions;
  • Patient-centered communication strategies to shape interactions within the VR game;
  • Designing verbal and non-verbal communication between patients and virtual therapists to guide correct execution of rehabilitation exercises.

Lead researcher at VOH

Ana Rita Londral, PhD

Executive Director

Project outcomes and impact

  • Developed a prototype VR game with interactive features to support motor rehabilitation for post-COVID-19 patients;
  • Integrated multiple levels of exercise difficulty based on patient needs;
  • Created linguistic mapping of movement instructions to support understanding and adherence;
  • Advanced to voice recording and usability testing stages to ensure clarity and effectiveness;
  • Produced a project video showcasing the development process and its impact.

Publications

  • Silva, C., Quaresma, C., Silva, R., Carvalho, S., Costa, R., Fernández, M., Fonseca, M., Pinto de Sousa, A., Londral, A., & Fonseca, M. (2024). Com@Rehab: An interactive and personalised rehabilitation activity based on virtual reality. BIOSTEC 2024 – Proceedings of the 17th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies, Volume 2, 776–788.