REACH

Overview

Physiotherapy services face growing pressure from increasing demand and a persistent shortage of clinicians, limiting patients' access to timely rehabilitation. Digital rehabilitation platforms offer a scalable way to extend care beyond the clinic, but patient engagement remains a challenge. Existing rehabilitation apps typically rely on conventional 2D videos or images which can make it difficult for patients to accurately understand and reproduce the movements. Limited viewing angles and the lack of depth perception often results in poor technique, reducing treatment effectiveness and increasing the risk of further injury.

This project explores how immersive volumetric video can transform digital physiotherapy by making rehabilitation exercises easier to understand, more engaging and safer to perform at home. Unlike traditional video, volumetric capture creates interactive 3SD representations that patients can view from any angle, providing realistic spatial depth and allowing them to better understand body positioning and movement. The technology also enables 3D annotations and movement guidance, helping patients perform exercises with grater confidence and accuracy. By combining volumetric video with behavioural design approaches including gamification and personalised feedback, the project aims to enhance patient engagement while supporting correct exercise technique between clinical appointments.

Rather than replacing physiotherapists, the technology is designed to extend their reach into patients' homes, enabling more effective remote rehabilitation and allowing clinicians to monitor progress and provide timely movement correction. Developed in collaboration with Physitrack PLC, the project builds on an established digital rehabilitation platform used by physiotherapists and healthcare providers internationally. The collaboration provides access to an existing clinical user base and a clear pathway for integrating, evaluating and ultimately deploying the technology within real-world rehabilitation services. The collaboration also provides an opportunity to explore how immersive volumetric video can be integrated into existing clinical workflows and patient-facing rehabilitation platforms. The project seeks to generate evidence for the next generation of digital rehabilitation tools that improve patient outcomes while helping healthcare providers address workforce shortages and rising demand for rehabilitation services.

The role of IET

IET contributes its internationally recognised expertise in volumetric video, WebXR and immersive technologies to develop and evaluate digital rehabilitation solutions. Building on its advanced volumetric capture capabilities and prior research in immersive technologies, IET will lead the design, development and integration of WebXR-based rehabilitation experiences, together with their evaluation through user studies. Working closely with Physitrack, IET will explore integrating of this expertise and research capabilities into the company's platform, creating an innovative, scalable feature with commercial potential.

Expected impacts and or outcomes

This project has the potential to improve the effectiveness of digital physiotherapy by using immersive volumetric video to make rehabilitation exercises more accessible and engaging. By improving exercise technique, increasing patient adherence and supporting sustained engagement with rehabilitation programmes, the technology aims to deliver better clinical outcomes while reducing the burden on physiotherapists and helping address growing workforce pressures.

Through collaboration with Physitrack, the project provides a promising pathway towards commercialisation by exploring how the technology could be integrated within an established digital rehabilitation platform with an existing clinical user base. More broadly, the project will contribute to advancing the UK's position in immersive healthcare by demonstrating the potential of volumetric video and WebXR technologies for scalable digital health applications.