Development of an Immersive IMU-Based Gamified Virtual Reality System for ACL Postoperative Knee Rehabilitation

Postoperative rehabilitation following anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction remains limited by insufficient real time feedback, inconsistent adherence, and the absence of individualized sensor driven evaluation. Current home based rehabilitation practices rarely capture the neuromechanical factors that underlie functional recovery, including proprioceptive deficits, joint loading asymmetries, and altered movement strategies. This research proposes the development of an immersive rehabilitation framework that integrates inertial measurement unit based motion capture with virtual reality environments to investigate how real time digital representations of movement can enhance sensorimotor learning. By combining multi sensor IMU data with a VR based digital twin of lower limb motion, the system will provide multimodal biofeedback that adapts to the user’s performance in real time. The project aims to examine how immersive feedback influences proprioceptive recalibration, movement symmetry, and patient motivation, and to develop computational models capable of characterizing individual recovery trajectories. The expected contribution is a validated sensor driven rehabilitation paradigm that advances theoretical understanding of motor learning in postoperative populations while informing the design of next generation interactive rehabilitation technologies.