Khadija GOURRAME is a research scientist, who is currently working as post-doctoral research associate at university of Orleans. Her ongoing research project is aimed at improving motor and cognitive functions in individuals with Parkinson's disease by utilizing a rehabilitation program based on virtual reality and action observation training. As a result, her research interests include: signal processing, bio-signal analysis, machine learning and biostatistics. She accomplished her joint doctoral degree in image processing from the University of IBN Zohr and the University of Orleans. During her doctoral studies, she developed a watermarking approach to enhance the security of smartphone freehandedly captured ID cards. Furthermore, her research interests extend to other domains such as image processing, image watermarking, and computer vision.
Exploring Parkinson’s disease rehabilitations: VR-Action Observation training in focus
Parkinson's disease (PD) is a chronic and progressive neurological disorder that affects motor and cognitive function. Although pharmacological and surgical treatments can help manage symptoms, non-pharmacological interventions such as rehabilitation have gained attention as a means to improve motor function and quality of life for PD patients.
Virtual Reality (VR) based Action Observation Training (AOT) is an innovative rehabilitation approach that combines VR technology and the observation of movements to enhance motor learning and cognitive function. In this workshop, we provide a focused review of the literature on VR-AOT in PD rehabilitation. We discusses the rationale and potential benefits of VR-AOT, including its ability to improve gait, balance, and upper limb function, as well as cognitive domains such as attention and executive function. Additionally, qualitative and quantitative assessments, challenges and limitations of VR-AOT for PD are highlighted. As conclusion, the workshop emphasize the potential of VR-AOT as a promising and complementary therapy for PD rehabilitation, and highlight the need for continuing-research to establish its effectiveness and broader applicability.
