CalliRehab: Supporting Motor-Cognitive Recovery in Post-Stroke Rehabilitation Through AR-Enhanced Multisensory Calligraphy Therapy

Integrating motor and cognitive training is crucial for stroke patients. However, interactive technologies for assisting such synergistic trainings are underdeveloped. This article presents the design and evaluation of CalliRehab, an AR-enhanced multisensory tool for facilitating the coordinated training of upper limb motor skills and cognitive functions through calligraphy therapy tasks. The effects of CalliRehab were examined through a within-subject experiment involving 21 stroke patients. Results indicate that, compared to the non-feedback baseline, multimodal feedback improved the task accuracy with a significant reduction in error counts (p < 0.001). Participants’ cognitive load has been remarkably lowered in the NASA task load index (p < 0.001), whereas the intrinsic motivation (p < 0.001) and the technology acceptance (p < 0.001) have been increased significantly. This study confirms that AR-enhanced multisensory training tools can effectively support integrating motor and cognitive training in stroke patients, particularly in enhancing task quality and training experiences.