CAST: A Virtual Reality Spellcasting Game for the Rehabilitation of Distal Radius and Finger Fractures

CAST is a virtual reality (VR) spellcasting game and platform for the rehabilitation of distal radius and figure fractures. CAST will allow patients to engage in therapist-guided rehabilitation both in a post-surgical and long-term setting. Specifically, therapists will be able to input specific gestures and sequences they want the patient to perform as well as the specific angular or range-of-motion targets for each gesture. Patients will be able to map each sequence to an attack within CAST and defeat enemies across three different worlds. In making CAST VR-based as well as gamified, we hope to increase patient engagement in therapy while also providing a way for patients to engage in effective and guided physical therapy from the comfort of their own home. We will develop CAST using a low-poly art style in Unity while integrating the Meta Interaction Software Development Kit (SDK)’s Gesture and Sequence recognition features. The pilot version of CAST described herein utilizes three sample gesture sequences: wrist pronation/supination, finger opposition, and tendon glide. Each sequence was programmed using the Meta Interaction SDK and mapped to a basic sample attack that spawns a cube above an enemy. In the future, I hope to apply for grant funding and continue developing CAST into a comprehensive hand rehabilitation platform. I will also conduct a pilot study with 40 patients suffering from distal radius or finger fractures to assess rates of patient progression when using CAST versus traditional methods of in-person rehabilitation.