Session Information
Session Title: AA 2021 Virtual Posters - Pain and Spine Medicine
Session Time: None. Available on demand.
Disclosures: Tri Pham: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest
Objective: To assess clinical feasibility of performing home exercises using a virtual mirror therapy system in a pilot sample of patients with phantom limb pain.
Design: Clinical feasibility and pilot studySetting : Home environmentParticipants : Seven patients with lower limb amputations
Interventions: Patients performed daily home exercises using the Mixed reality system for Managing Phantom Pain (Mr. MAPP) for one month. This system is designed to generate the corresponding phantom limb in real-time by using depth cameras and an internal processing system, which allows for environmental interaction with the virtual limb through games.
Main Outcome Measures: Feasibility data: Recruitment rate, retention rate, barriers. In-game data: Attendance pattern, performance over time. Clinical outcome data: McGill Pain Questionnaire (MPQ), Patient Specific Functional Scale (PSFS), and average pain on a numerical rating scale (NRS). MPQ and PSFS were measured at the baseline and 1-month visit; NRS was recorded weekly.
Results: Feasibility Data: Of 9 patients approached, 7 were enrolled (78%). Four of the seven fully completed the study (57%). No participant reported adverse events. Common barriers involved issues with camera positioning, sensor dislocation, and open space availability limitation. All participants were satisfied with ease of use. In-game data: Two individuals had perfect adherence, while the other two sporadically participated in their sessions. Regression line generated from game records illustrated a trend towards improvement across all participants. Clinical outcome data: MPQ and NRS scores revealed no clear trend with home therapy, but anecdotally all participants reported temporary pain relief following home therapy sessions. Paired t-test revealed significant difference between baseline and 1-month PSFS scores (p < 0.01), indicating improved function.Conclusions: Gamified home virtual mirror therapy using Mr. MAPP is feasible and shows potential to improve pain and pain-related functional outcomes. Further research, such as a fully-powered prospective study with appropriate control, is needed to better evaluate its efficacy.
Level of Evidence: Level IV
To cite this abstract in AMA style:
Pham T, Annaswamy TM, Raval G. Clinical Feasibility and Preliminary Outcomes of a Novel Mixed Reality Based System to Manage Phantom Pain for Patients with Lower Limb Amputation: A Pilot Study [abstract]. PM R. 2021; 13(S1)(suppl 1). https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-feasibility-and-preliminary-outcomes-of-a-novel-mixed-reality-based-system-to-manage-phantom-pain-for-patients-with-lower-limb-amputation-a-pilot-study/. Accessed May 21, 2025.« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2021
PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/clinical-feasibility-and-preliminary-outcomes-of-a-novel-mixed-reality-based-system-to-manage-phantom-pain-for-patients-with-lower-limb-amputation-a-pilot-study/