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New study on virtual reality-based stroke rehabilitation published

We are pleased to announce the publication of a collaborative research study involving our department in an international peer-reviewed journal.

Our team, led by Professor Yukari Ohki and Research Fellow Yohei Nagaoka of Kyorin University School of Medicine, investigated the feasibility and safety of a virtual reality (VR)-based training program for individuals with chronic stroke.

The study evaluated a VR system controlled by electromyographic signals, allowing participants to operate a virtual avatar through muscle activity. Because the system can respond to muscle signals even when visible movement is limited, it may provide a new rehabilitation option for individuals with moderate to severe motor impairments.

Two individuals who were more than one year post-stroke participated in the study. Both completed the training program safely and without adverse events, while one participant showed improvements in upper-limb function following the intervention.

Although further research is needed before this technology can be widely implemented in clinical practice, these findings represent an important first step toward the clinical application and further development of VR-based rehabilitation.

The study was published online in Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences on September 23, 2026.

Training Setup

The device used in this study detects weak muscle signals through sensors attached to the skin and translates them into movements of a virtual hand (the gray hand displayed on the computer screen). Participants performed a training task in which they voluntarily attempted to activate the muscles of their impaired hand and use those signals to control the virtual hand.

ARTICLE INFORMATION

Article Title

Long-term electromyography-based virtual reality training for chronic upper-limb motor paralysis after stroke: an exploratory single-case experimental design

Authors

Yohei Nagaoka*, Shinya Suzuki*, Tsuyoshi Nakajima, Hiroyuki Ohtsuka, Akimasa Hayashi, Max Ortiz-Catalan, Yukari Ohki (corresponding author) (*: Y. Nagaoka and S. Suzuki contributed equally to this work and share first authorship)

Journal

Frontiers in Rehabilitation Sciences

Article Publication Date

23 Sep, 2026

DOI

10.3389/fresc.2026.1946303

URL

https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2026.1946303

Statement

This study was supported by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT)/Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI (15K21754, 25702033, 26560282, 24K14332). The funders played no role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation. The authors declared that this work was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

23 Sep, 2026