# Personalized Visualization of the Gestures of Parkinson's Disease Patients with Virtual Reality
## 1 Introduction  
[PERSON]'s disease constitutes one of the most widespread age-related neurodegenerative disorders worldwide, with multiple accompanying clinical and societal challenges. The condition is characterized by a number of non-motor symptoms, such as mood disorders, sleep disorders, or autonomic imbalances, that frequently precede the motor symptoms which the disease has been traditionally linked with, like bradykinesia, rigidity, postural changes, and resting tremor [1]. Since its first description by [PERSON] over 200 years ago, we have gained a lot of insight into the pathology and pathophysiology of the disease, but no groundbreaking progress has been made in relation to its etiology or management [2]. We know, for example, that the disease is associated with the loss of the dopaminergic neurons that normally connect the substantia nigra with the striatum, we know that aggregation of dysfunctional proteins exerts cytotoxic effects along the nervous system, and we recently suspect that the disease might start at the peripheral level, in the enteric nervous system. Nevertheless, no causative factors have been yet identified, and the treatment of [PERSON]'s disease still hugely relies on the replacement of dopamine in an attempt to compensate for a short period of time for the loss of the dopaminergic neurons [3]. Other treatment approaches, like deep brain stimulation, are also transiently effective in only certain subpopulations of the patients [4]. Among the challenges of advancing the management of the disease, there is a pressing need to develop approaches for assessing symptom progression and severity and estimating prognosis in a personalized manner [5].  
Virtual reality (VR) technologies might offer opportunities in this direction. VR has existed conceptually since the 19 th century, but it is only today that this technology has seen a resurgence in interest among researchers, as the possibilities it offers are increasingly impressive [6]. This immersive technology stimulates the brain by almost all sensory modalities, visual, auditory, and tactile, creating a simulation of a given experience in the most realistic possible way. In the field of medicine, VR has made its appearance in surgical skill applications, in the cognitive and physical rehabilitation of stroke patients, in mental health applications for patients with anxiety disorders and chronic pain [7], as well as in telemedicine. Since VR has contributed significantly to many areas of science, the question arises whether it could contribute to improved recording, monitoring, and visualization of [PERSON]'s disease symptoms [8].  
The aim of the presented work is the development and perspectives of a system for the VR visualization of movements and/or exercises performed by patients with Parkinson's disease. Via VR, it will be feasible for their treating physicians to monitor the patient's progress remotely. The movements are constructed from raw data, which are provided by inertia and flex sensors embedded in a smart glove. The use of virtual reality may offer new methods for assessing the progress and severity of symptoms, as well as for assessing prognosis in a more personalized way. According to different scenarios, the physician will be able to employ the sensor data visualization along with VR, either for real-time diagnosis or for follow-up assessment, without any cameras. In this study, we will also examine the potential and challenges associated with the integration of virtual reality in the visualization of motion data of patients with Parkinson's disease in order to provide better and more comprehensive care.