ALL RIGHTS RESERVED © 2000 BY THE EDUCATIONAL PUBLISHING FOUNDATION 1 VIRTUAL REALITY IN REHABILITATION OF SPINAL CORD INJURIES: A CASE REPORT This is a unrevised version of the paper published by the journal ”Rehabilitation Psychology”, 45 (1), 1-8, 2000 Journal web site: http://www.apa.org/journals/rep.html Copyright Notice This paper is included as a means to ensure timely dissemination of scholarly and technical work on a non-commercial basis. Copyright and all rights therein are maintained by the authors or by other copyright holders, notwithstanding that they have offered their works here electronically. It is understood that all persons copying this information will adhere to the terms and constraints invoked by each author's copyright. These works may not be reposted without the explicit permission of the copyright holder. Please contact the authors if you are willing to republish this work in a book, journal, on the Web or elsewhere. Thank you in advance. GIUSEPPE RIVA Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab. - Istituto Auxologico Italiano P.O. Box 1, 28044 Verbania, Italy Tel: +39-323-580278 - Fax: +39-323-587694 E-mail: auxo.psylab@auxologico.it Abstract: Advances in Information Technology offer new opportunities for rehabilitation. In particular, the immersion capability provided by a synthetic environment could be exploited to design novel assistive devices. In virtual reality (VR) users navigate and interact with 3-D, computer-generated environments that are highly flexible and programmable, enabling the therapist to present a variety of controlled stimuli and to measure and monitor responses. VR provides a powerful means of increasing levels of environmental interaction in a highly controlled and structured manner. In this paper an overview is given of the design issues of a VR-enhanced orthopaedic appliance used in rehabilitation of a person with spinal cord injury.