Augmented Reality Glasses As a New Tele-Rehabilitation Tool for Home Use: Patients’ Perception and Expectations

Purpose of the study: Explore perceptions, expectations and challenges following a telerehabilitation programme using augmented reality glasses (ARG) in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or recently diagnosed myocardial infarction (MI). Materials and Methods: A qualitative approach was employed to track perspectives from a range of patients with chronic lung and/or heart diseases. COPD, IPF and MI outpatients from Denmark and Finland were invited to participate. Data were collected through focus group and semi-structured in-depth interviews. Qualitative analysis was performed using standard thematic analytical approaches. A topic guide was used to explore experiences and perceptions of the ARG telerehabilitation device among participants. Results: Thirteen patients (4 MI, 2 IPF and 7 COPD), 3 women and 10 men aged 56 to 75 years (mean age 63.3 years) were allocated into one focus group (9 patients) and 4 interviews (4 patients). Twelve patients reported the added value of ARG and suggested constructive changes such as the adjustable screen/brightness, robust head fixation for exercise performance, easy to navigate interface and supported feedback based on exercise performance. Conclusion: Patients with chronic heart or lung diseases described the added value in an ARG telerehabilitation programme. Improvements for a future version of the ARG were suggested.