{"id":2593,"date":"2022-08-29T09:30:23","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T09:30:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8d.nl\/techtalk-1-phd-researcher-lise-beumeler\/"},"modified":"2025-03-20T11:10:52","modified_gmt":"2025-03-20T11:10:52","slug":"techtalk-1-phd-researcher-lise-beumeler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8d.nl\/en\/techtalk-1-phd-researcher-lise-beumeler\/","title":{"rendered":"TechTalk #1: PhD researcher Lise Beumeler"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ICU rehabilitation with virtual reality<\/mark><\/h1>\n\n

“An open mind and curiosity about what works for the patient; that is very important.” <\/h4>\n\n

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So who are these people who build bridges between science, technology and social issues? That is what we will be asking a number of collaboration partners about in the near future. Lise Beumeler – PhD researcher at RuG Campus Frysl\u00e2n<\/a> – starts first. She is currently finalising her research at the Intensive Care (IC) ward of the Medical Centre Leeuwarden<\/a>. Together with 8D, it developed a virtual reality game that helps ICU patients perform rehabilitation exercises. Beumeler: “The pandemic underlined for me that we do have to look at digital tools for care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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People who have undergone ICU admission are a vulnerable patient group. That makes it extra important to gear innovations closely to what they can handle, right from the start. Beumeler: \u00b4We started very small. Together with a group of recovering ICU patients, we tried out a number of existing games, using different types of hardware that 8D had brought along. From Kinect to laptop and VR glasses. Soon, we noticed that participants went completely ‘wild’ especially with that VR experience. People were absorbed in the new experience and that seemed to have a beneficial effect on exercise behaviour.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Left: screenshot from the game. Right: Johan van der Meulen (8D) during a target group test at Leeuwarden Medical Centre<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

A surprising outcome, according to Beumeler: “Beforehand, there was concern that VR technology in particular would be perceived as too stressful. This proved incorrect; nobody got dizzy and people were mostly enthusiastic. However, as a result of the tests, we did choose to develop our prototype completely bespoke to simplify the user interface’s – ‘operation’ . We also decided to swap controllers for hand tracking<\/em> with infrared technology. In doing so, you don’t have to hold anything in your hands; the movements are registered by the glasses themselves.’<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Acting on your own expertise<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

A custom <\/em>game prototype was then developed based on the test results. How does that work if technology or gaming is not necessarily within your area of expertise? Beumeler: ‘In such a process, everyone has to act primarily on the basis of their own expertise. You also have to trust each other in this. The bottlenecks and possible obstacles from the hospital; I can advise and inform on that, together with colleagues in the ICU and aftercare clinic. But diving completely into the hardware and technical possibilities, I have confidently left that to 8D. Because Johan<\/a> and Giel<\/a> got involved from the very beginning, the trust grew quickly\u2019In the VR prototype, the patient sits in a virtual, cosy living room. The challenge is to solve a jigsaw puzzle. To move the puzzle pieces, hands and arms are moved in the real world – exactly the way taught during rehabilitation. Beumeler: ‘There are four levels of play, which means that even patients with very low mobility can use the game. Even when they are currently still in the ICU. This is something that healthcare professionals were initially – quite understandably – a bit hesitant about; but now that the prototype is here and has been tested, they are excited to start using it in their work. ‘Recovering’ becomes ‘playing’ for a while and that is incredibly nice for the patient.’\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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