Penumbra said that is teaming up with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Office of Healthcare Innovation and Learning (OHIL) to test, co-develop and execute rehabilitative healthcare solutions based on virtual reality (VR).
The collaboration aims to enhance access to care by scaling VR solutions to remote areas and acquiring a deep understanding of the veterans’ needs to support future healthcare offerings.
It will use Penumbra’s REAL y-Series technology to develop targeted therapy tools that address the most critical rehabilitation needs of veterans, including remote therapeutic rehabilitation.
Penumbra said that its REAL y-Series is a hands-free, non-tethered, multi-disciplinary VR rehabilitation platform designed to address high acuity to high-functioning patients.
The solution is currently being used in clinics and hospitals across the US, for physical rehabilitation, core and balance, cognition, functional uses, and daily activities.
It will support asynchronous patient-provider interactions and allows VHA OHIL to further adopt and scale new technologies for remote therapeutic rehabilitation, therapeutic monitoring, and patient management, said the US medical device maker.
Penumbra immersive healthcare business president Gita Barry said: “VHA is one of the most impactful and forward-thinking innovators in healthcare, constantly promoting discovery and adoption of the latest technologies to advance care delivery and service.
“It is a great honour to work with the VHA on such an important initiative to not only maximise the key benefits of rehabilitation therapy with virtual reality, but to also broadly implement these tools so veterans, whether at a VA facility or in a remote location, will have access to these offerings.”
Penumbra offers the REAL y-Series for clinical rehabilitation as part of its REAL Immersive System platform, alongside the REAL i-Series for wellness.
The medical device company developed the REAL Immersive System platform based on advanced technology, with a growing library of VR-based activities and experiences.
It uses virtual reality to deliver immersive healthcare to promote better health, including functional skills, cognition and stress management, said Penumbra.
