Immersive Rehabilitation: Foundations of AI, Virtual Reality, Mixed Reality & Augmented Reality in Rehabilitation

Course Description

This course introduces rehab professionals to the foundational concepts of artificial intelligence (AI), virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) as applied to rehabilitation. Delivered through a mix of lecture, guided demonstration review, and facilitated case-based discussion, the course orients participants to current technology-adoption trends, defines and differentiates each modality, critically appraises the existing research evidence, and covers safety, ethics, accessibility, and practical first steps for piloting immersive/AI technology in a traditional practice setting. Content is directly relevant to physical therapy, occupational therapy, and athletic training practice, as immersive and AI-enabled tools are increasingly used for patient engagement, home-exercise adherence, balance and gait training, and remote/telerehabilitation service delivery.

Course Objectives

At the end of this course, the participant will be able to:

• Discuss the evolution of technology adoption in rehabilitation and identify the key drivers behind immersive-technology adoption in current practice.
• Define artificial intelligence, virtual reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality in clinical terms, and place each modality on the reality-virtuality continuum.
• Summarize findings from recent systematic and scoping reviews of AI, VR, and AR in rehabilitation, and critically appraise marketing claims against published evidence.
• Identify safety and contraindication considerations for immersive technology, including cybersickness, seizure history, and fall risk, and discuss data-privacy considerations for AI-assisted documentation.
• Differentiate VR’s three clinical roles — therapeutic intervention, assessment/diagnostic tool, and patient education/exposure — and apply a population-screening checklist to determine patient appropriateness.
• Outline first steps for piloting AI/XR technology in a traditional rehabilitation practice setting.

• Prerequisites

  None

• Educational Level

  Basic

• Other

  Satisfactory completion of this course will require the participant to respond to various polling questions asked throughout the webinar.