{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,27]],"date-time":"2026-04-27T19:41:51Z","timestamp":1777318911575,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":39,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,13]],"date-time":"2020-05-13T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1589328000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness","award":["DPI2017-87562-C2-1-R"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DPI2017-87562-C2-1-R"]}]},{"name":"RoboCity2030-DIH-CM, Madrid Robotics Digital Innovation Hub","award":["S2018\/NMT-4331"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["S2018\/NMT-4331"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>In recent decades, gaming technology has been accepted as a feasible method for complementing traditional clinical practice, especially in neurorehabilitation; however, the viability of using 3D Virtual Reality (VR) for the assessment of upper limb motor function has not been fully explored. For that purpose, we developed a VR-based version of the Box and Blocks Test (BBT), a clinical test for the assessment of manual dexterity, as an automated alternative to the classical procedure. Our VR-based BBT (VR-BBT) integrates the traditional BBT mechanics into gameplay using the Leap Motion Controller (LMC) to capture the user\u2019s hand motion and the Oculus Rift headset to provide a fully immersive experience. This paper focuses on evaluating the validity of our VR-BBT to reliably measure the manual dexterity in a sample of patients with Parkinson\u2019s Disease (PD). For this study, a group of twenty individuals in a mild to moderate stage of PD were recruited. Participants were asked to perform the physical BBT (once) and our proposed VR-BBT (twice) system, separately. Correlation analysis of collected data was carried out. Statistical analysis proved that the performance data collected by the VR-BBT significantly correlated with the conventional assessment of the BBT. The VR-BBT scores have shown a significant association with PD severity measured by the Hoehn and Yahr scale. This fact suggests that the VR-BBT could be used as a reliable indicator for health improvements in patients with PD. Finally, the VR-BBT system presented high usability and acceptability rated by clinicians and patients.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s20102773","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,14]],"date-time":"2020-05-14T02:55:41Z","timestamp":1589424941000},"page":"2773","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":66,"title":["Validity of a Fully-Immersive VR-Based Version of the Box and Blocks Test for Upper Limb Function Assessment in Parkinson\u2019s Disease"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"20","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0791-860X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Edwin Daniel","family":"O\u00f1a","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Systems Engineering and Automation, University Carlos III of Madrid, Avda. de la Universidad 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3734-7492","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alberto","family":"Jard\u00f3n","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Systems Engineering and Automation, University Carlos III of Madrid, Avda. de la Universidad 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9507-2717","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alicia","family":"Cuesta-G\u00f3mez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Rey Juan Carlos University, Avda. de Atenas s\/n, 28922 Alcorc\u00f3n, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1340-8278","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Patricia","family":"S\u00e1nchez-Herrera-Baeza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Rey Juan Carlos University, Avda. de Atenas s\/n, 28922 Alcorc\u00f3n, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1118-4234","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Roberto","family":"Cano-de-la-Cuerda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Rehabilitation and Physical Medicine, Rey Juan Carlos University, Avda. de Atenas s\/n, 28922 Alcorc\u00f3n, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-4864-4625","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Carlos","family":"Balaguer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Systems Engineering and Automation, University Carlos III of Madrid, Avda. de la Universidad 30, 28911 Legan\u00e9s, Spain"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2020,5,13]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Trail, M. 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