| To analyze the relevant literature on application of virtual reality technology in the field
of stroke from 2011 to 2020, construct a knowledge graph, and reveal the research status of virtual reality
technology in stroke-related fields and capture its development trends. Methods: Taking the Web of Science
(WOS) core collection database as data source, the literature on the application of virtual reality technology in
the field of stroke was analyzed by CiteSpace, and citation analysis and information visualization technology
were used to draw a visual map of countries, institutions, disciplines, keywords, prominent words, and other
research elements. Results: A total of 1 967 articles were retrieved, and the annual volume of articles increased
continuously. The visualization map shows that the United States, Canada, Italy, and China are high-output
countries in this field. Among the global institutions, McGill University in Canada has the largest number of
papers, followed by the Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital in the United States and the Swiss Federal Reserve
Institute of Technology. The application of virtual reality technology in stroke rehabilitation involves many
disciplines, such as engineering, neuroscience, computer science, rehabilitation, robotics, and more. In the early
days, the hot keywords in this field mainly focused on arm, environment, functional magnetic resonance
imaging, prism adaptation training, robot, and biofeedback. The focus gradually turn to upper limb rehabilitation,
haptic feedback, neurological rehabilitation, pain, postural balance, and Wii fit (game name). More authentic and
diverse forms of training and the combination with intelligent Internet may become the focus of future research.
Conclusion: There is broad potential in the application of virtual reality technology in stroke rehabilitation. |