Towards a New Wave of Telerehabilitation Applications

In recent years, new scenarios for experimenting telerehabilitation services have been opening thanks to the diffusion of the new technologies. The revolution brought about by the Internet of Things and Big Data Analytics is having an effect also in the field of telerehabilitation services. The literature has broadened in scope and grown in volume and, in certain aspects, the focus of research has changed in the last few years. This article examines the major changes that have come about in the field of telerehabilitation, which can essentially be divided into two main strands: low-cost end-user applications, and the integration of telerehabilitation services. We will briefly review the emerging investigations and experimentations in the field of telerehabilitation, analyzing the market trends in the sector and the commercial strategies of companies working in it, and aim to outline the most relevant challenges that exist for the delivery of effective and sustainable telerehabilitation services. Our opinion is that telerehabilitation currently represents a very promising field, although many questions still remain open, for which concrete and reliable answers are required. In this respect, we focus on a fundamental issue that underlies the field of telerehabilitation services, namely the influence that environment has on the effectiveness of treatment. In short, how can the type of environment affect the results of treatment?