Simultaneous Visual and Force Intervention to Present Stair Descent Sensation

Descending stairs is a difficult task for the elderly and disabled, and it is difficult to rehabilitate using real stairs because of the high degree of difficulty and the anxiety it causes. Therefore, rehabilitation using real stairs is difficult. Therefore, stair training on a flat surface using motor imagery is expected to be a new rehabilitation training method that eliminates the fear of falling. This paper proposes a new rehabilitation training method that simultaneously provides a visual presentation using virtual reality (VR) and a force sensation to the muscular senses using a pneumatic gel muscle (PGM). The system is designed to allow users to perceive the sensation of descending stairs. To verify the effectiveness of the system, we confirmed the muscle activity of the quadriceps muscle using electromyography (EMG) and evaluated the presence of the sensation of descending stairs using a psychological evaluation.