Three-dimensional visualisation of activities of daily living for home modification planning (VisADLs) after spinal cord injury: stakeholder perspectives from a qualitative proof-of-concept study
Published 9th September 2026
Purpose
Home modification planning after spinal cord injury (SCI) is often complicated by limited opportunities for people with SCI to attend their homes and participate in decision making. This proof-of-concept study explored whether three-dimensional visualisation of activities of daily living (ADLs), created from motion capture of people with SCI, could support understanding and collaboration during planning.
Methods
Twelve stakeholders (four people with SCI and home modification experience, eight occupational therapists) participated in semi-structured focus groups and interviews. Participants viewed a prototype tool depicting ADL movements captured from people with SCI in home environments, then discussed its perceived usefulness, design requirements, and feasibility for clinical practice. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
Results:
Five themes captured perceived benefits and the conditions required for use. Participants described the visualisations as reducing spatial uncertainty, supporting more informed participation in decision making, and improving communication among people with SCI, clinicians, builders, and funding assessors. Authentic motion capture and respectful person-like representation were seen as essential ethical requirements. Participants emphasised the need for functional precision where body, equipment, carers, and environment interact, and for flexibility to accommodate individual variation in movement and equipment. Sustainable adoption was seen to depend on integration with existing tools and workflows.
Conclusions:
Three-dimensional visualisation of ADLs based on real movements shows promise for improving communication, confidence in design decisions, and stakeholder alignment in home modification planning after SCI. Realising this potential will require respectful representation, functional precision, and workflow integration.
IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION
Three-dimensional ADL visualisation tools grounded in authentic motion capture may help address long-standing communication challenges in home modification planning by creating shared reference points that support people with SCI to participate more actively and confidently in the design process. Visualisation provides a means for clinicians, builders, and assessors to engage with the lived spatial realities of disability, allowing for a more tangible understanding of how environmental layouts translate into functional outcomes.
Motion capture drawn from lived experience was seen as a foundational design requirement, with respectful and realistic digital representation of people with disabilities seen as a prerequisite when designing assistive digital technologies.
Sustainable implementation of digital assistive technologies depends on balancing precision with practicality. Tools must capture the detail that affects daily function while remaining compatible with existing clinical workflows and documentation systems.
Citation:
Walker, J., Gustafsson, L., Simmonds, H., McShane, M., Ditcham, R., & Della-Bosca, D. (2026). Three-dimensional visualisation of activities of daily living for home modification planning (VisADLs) after spinal cord injury: stakeholder perspectives from a qualitative proof-of-concept study. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2026.2717486
Authors
Professor
Publication Type
Journal Article
Back to Project
