Virtual or augmented reality rehabilitation

Abstract

A system and method may be used to assess range of motion of a target body part. A method may include comparing reference range of motion capabilities of a body part that mirrors or matches the target body part (e.g., from a camera or a database) to captured range of motion capabilities of the target body part. The comparison may result in an assessment, a virtual animation, a virtual component, or other output, such as to be displayed on a display or an augmented reality display.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for assessing range of motion comprising:
 capturing three-dimensional data points of a target body part of a subject during motion of the target body part relative to a reference point of the subject;   classifying the data points, including range of motion information for the target body part, as members of a movement set;   obtaining a reference set corresponding to the target body part, the reference set defining range of motion capabilities for the target body part;   computing a difference set, a member of the difference set defining a three-dimensional relationship between a member of the movement set and a corresponding member of the reference set;   determining an assessment for the target body part based on the difference set; and   outputting the assessment.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the assessment indicates that the target body part requires surgery. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining the reference set based on a second set of three-dimensional data points collected from a reference body part of the subject that mirrors the target body part, the reference body part having a greater range of motion than the target body part. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein outputting the assessment includes outputting the assessment to an augmented reality display for display on the augmented reality display. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein capturing the data points includes capturing sequential images using a depth camera. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the difference set includes an angle of difference between the range of motion data of the reference set and the range of motion data of the movement set. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein capturing the data points includes capturing information at a series of points using a sensor affixed to the target body part, wherein the sensor includes an accelerometer, an inertial measurement unit (IMU), or a contact pressure sensor, and wherein the sensor is embedded in a wearable sleeve. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the movement set includes a maximum angle of extension of the target body part and the reference set includes a maximum angle of extension for a reference body part matching the target body part, and wherein the difference set includes a difference of maximum angle of extension between the movement set and the reference set. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the assessment is a physical therapy program including a movement challenge for the target body part. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein outputting the assessment includes:
 generating a virtual component for display using the reference set;   displaying the virtual component using an augmented reality display, while permitting the target body part to be viewed through the augmented reality display;   guiding the subject, with an indication displayed on the augmented reality display, to perform movement with the target body part mimicking the virtual component.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein guiding the subject includes providing haptic feedback to the target body part with a plurality of haptic feedback devices. 
     
     
         12 . At least one non-transitory machine-readable medium including instructions for assessing range of motion, which when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:
 capturing three-dimensional movement of a target body part of a subject, the target body part moving relative to a reference point of the subject;   determining performed range of motion information for the target body part based on the captured three-dimensional movement;   obtaining range of motion capabilities for the target body part;   creating a model of a three-dimensional difference between the performed range of motion and the range of motion capabilities; and   displaying, using an augmented reality device, a virtual animation of the target body part, the virtual animation created using the model of the three-dimensional difference, while permitting the target body part to be viewed through the augmented reality device.   
     
     
         13 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein obtaining the range of motion capabilities includes obtaining the range of motion capabilities from a database. 
     
     
         14 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 13 , wherein the operations further include training range of motion capabilities data using a machine-learning technique, and wherein obtaining the range of motion capabilities from the database includes querying the database for the range of motion capability from learned range of motion capabilities. 
     
     
         15 . The at least one machine-readable medium of  claim 12 , wherein obtaining the range of motion capabilities includes obtaining the range of motion capabilities from the camera by capturing a reference body part of the subject that mirrors the target body part, the reference body part performing the three-dimensional movement. 
     
     
         16 . A system for assessing range of motion, the system comprising:
 a motion capture device to capture a series of images of three-dimensional movement of the target body part of a subject, the target body part moving relative to a reference point of the subject;   a processor to:
 determine range of motion information for the target body part based on the captured series of images; 
 obtain reference range of motion capabilities for the target body part; 
 determine that the reference range of motion capabilities exceed the range of motion for the target body part; and 
   an augmented reality device to:
 display, in response to the determination, using the augmented reality device, a virtual animation of the target body part, the virtual animation created using the reference range of motion capabilities and the range of motion information for the target body part. 
   
     
     
         17 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the motion capture device is one of a camera or an infrared camera. 
     
     
         18 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein to obtain the reference range of motion capabilities includes using the motion capture device to capture a reference body part of the subject that mirrors the target body part, the reference body part performing the three-dimensional movement. 
     
     
         19 . The system of  claim 16 , wherein the processor is further to determine an assessment for the target body part based on the difference set; and
 output the assessment for display.   
     
     
         20 . The system of  claim 19 , wherein the assessment indicates that the target body part requires surgery.