Virtual reality and telemedicine for home health care

The rapid increase in the numbers of old people in society and the corresponding strain on medical resources will result in greater importance being placed on home health care. Advances in communications technologies will enable the old and disabled to receive health care ill the comfort and safety of their homes, eliminating costly and potentially hazardous journeys to hospital. We have developed a prototype networked virtual system to aid the cognitive and motor rehabilitation of patients suffering from conditions such as traumatic brain injury, stroke and Parkinsons disease. Our virtual kitchen aids the retraining of patients in important daily living skills such as meal preparation tasks. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.