VERARE : Effectiveness of Virtual Motor Actions for Improving Walking in Patients With Post-resuscitation Muscle Weakness

Overview

After a hospitalization in Intensive Care Unit (ICU), approximately 50% of patients usually have a ICU-Weakness, i.e. nerves and muscles injury secondary to immobilization and to treatments which had to be used. This disease is expected to be similar or even higher in patients suffering from COVID-19 and hospitalized in ICU due to the average length of hospitalization of several weeks in this population. This condition will delay the return-to-walk of these patients, their discharge from hospitalization and may deteriorate their autonomy in daily life activities. Virtual Reality (VR) environments are already used and have proven their worth for the assessment and rehabilitation of patients with neurological diseases. It therefore seems appropriate to offer the use of virtual environments for this type of population. VR represents a unique opportunity for the rehabilitation care of these patients, and in particular those who have been reached by COVID-19, due to the possible mismatch between the amount of motor rehabilitation to be provided and the fatigability and breathlessness at the slightest effort which seem particularly intense in this population. The main objective of our project is to improve and to accelerate gait recovery in patients hospitalized in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine after discharge from Resuscitation or Continuous Care Unit and in patients hospitalized in ICU and presenting ICU-weakness secondary to resuscitation, notably due to COVID-19 infection, thanks to the use of Virtual Reality tools. The VR tool will consist of virtual environments presented using a Virtual Reality headset where an avatar (double) of the patient hospitalized in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine or in ICU will be represented, who will perform different motor tasks involving their lower limbs (ex: walking, or kicking a ball) in several different virtual environments (settings). The patient will be asked to observe actions, then to imagine carrying out their actions which will be performed by the avatar in the virtual environment, then they will be able to control the actions of the avatar using their legs thanks to sensors, then feel walking sensations through the use of haptic devices.

Step 1: The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Observation of Virtual Actions on gait recovery in patients hospitalized in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (MPR) and presenting ICU-weakness, in particular following a COVID-19 infection. If the patient is included in the Virtual Reality group, they will be asked to observe once a day for 9 days for 5 minutes Virtual Motor Actions (avatar moving in a virtual environment) using a headset. Virtual Reality, followed by 5 minutes of relaxation performed using soothing music played through headphones. If the patient is included in the Relaxation group, they will be offered 10 minutes of relaxation performed using soothing music played in headphones once a day for 9 days. We will assess gait, motive power, balance, confidence in the future and patient autonomy before the start of the first session, the day after the last session and one month after inclusion. At the end of each session, we will ask the patient questions about fatigue (VAS) and the occurrence of side effects (open question) after wearing the Virtual Reality headset or headset. At the end of the 9 sessions, we will ask to patients in the Virtual Reality group to complete a questionnaire concerning the acceptance of the proposed device. We want to include 20 patients in the Virtual Reality group and 20 patients in the Relaxation group. Step 2: The objective is to assess the acceptability (a priori) of the Virtual Reality tool created in ICU by the nursing staff and by the patients who are hospitalized there. It will be offered to caregivers of the ICU of the Rennes University Hospital and to patients hospitalized in these 2 services and presenting ICU- weakness, especially in the aftermath of COVID infection. We will be asked to complete an acceptability questionnaire (a priori) concerning the use of a Virtual Reality tool intended to improve walking in the ICU. The duration of filling in this questionnaire is estimated at 30 minutes. Caregivers will be invited to participate in an information meeting (4 will be carried out) at least 1 week before their possible participation (which they will be informed by internal mail, and which will be led by investigators). We believe that approximately 300 caregivers and 50 patients will participate in this acceptability survey. Step 3: The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Observation of Virtual Actions on gait recovery in patients hospitalized in ICU and with ICU-weakness. If the acceptability questionnaire is in favor of a good future acceptance of the tool designed and after possible adaptations of the Virtual Reality device based on the responses of caregivers and patients to the acceptability questionnaire proposed during the step 2, we will suggest to patients hospitalized in ICU with ICU-weakness to carry out a protocol similar to that carried out with Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine patients in step 1. If the patient is included in the Virtual Reality group, they will be asked to observe once a day for 9 days for 5 minutes Virtual Motor Actions (avatar moving in a virtual environment) using a Virtual Reality headset, followed by 5 minutes of relaxation performed using soothing music played through headphones. If the patient is included in the Relaxation group, they will be offered 10 minutes of relaxation performed using soothing music played in headphones once a day for 9 days. We will assess gait, motive power, balance, confidence in the future and patient autonomy before the start of the first session, the day after the last session and 1 month after inclusion. At the end of each session, we will ask the patient questions about fatigue (VAS) and the occurrence of side effects (open question) after wearing the Virtual Reality headset. At the end of the 9 sessions, we will suggest to patients in the Virtual Reality group that they complete a questionnaire concerning the acceptance of the proposed device. We want to include 20 patients in the Virtual Reality group and 20 patients in the Relaxation group. Step 4: The objective is to assess the effectiveness of the realization of virtual actions compared to the observation of virtual actions on gait recovery in patients hospitalized in ICU or in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine and presenting ICU-weakness. If the patient is included in the group Performing Virtual Actions, they will be asked to perform Virtual Actions of the lower limbs by controlling the legs of his avatar (virtual double) in order to move around in a virtual environment for 10 minutes per day, once a day for 9 days. If the patient is included in the Observation of Virtual Actions group, they will be asked to observe for 10 minutes once a day for 9 days Virtual Motor Actions (avatar moving in a virtual environment) using a Virtual Reality headset. We will assess gait, motive power, balance, confidence in the future and patient autonomy before the start of the first session, the day after the last session and 1 month after inclusion. At the end of each session, we will ask the patient questions about fatigue (VAS) and the occurrence of side effects (open question) after wearing the Virtual Reality headset. At the end of the 9 sessions, we will offer patients to fill out a questionnaire concerning the acceptance of the proposed device. We want to include 20 patients in the Virtual Actions group and 20 patients in the Virtual Actions Observation group. Step 5: The objective is to evaluate the effectiveness of adding a sensation of walking using haptic stimuli during the Observation or Realization of Virtual Actions on the recovery of walking in patients hospitalized in ICU or in Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine and with ICU-weakness. Depending on the superiority or not of the Realization of Virtual Actions or the Observation of Virtual Actions, we will test the most effective condition of step 4 in combination with: either haptic stimulation (sensory feedback through vibrators positioned on the lower limbs to give a feeling of walking), either without haptic stimulation, once a day for 10 minutes for 9 days. We will assess gait, motive power, balance, confidence in the future and patient autonomy before the start of the first session, the day after the last session and 1 month after inclusion. At the end of each session, we will ask the patient questions about fatigue (VAS) and the occurrence of side effects (open question) in the aftermath of wearing a Virtual Reality headset. At the end of the 9 sessions, we will offer patients to fill out a questionnaire concerning the acceptance of the proposed device. We want to include 20 patients in the group with haptic stimulation and 20 patients in the group without haptic stimulation.