Loading...
3 results
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
- Reh@City v2.0: a comprehensive virtual reality cognitive training system based on personalized and adaptive simulations of activities of daily livingPublication . Paulino, Teresa; Faria, Ana Lúcia; Bermúdez i Badia, SergiCognitive impairments are among the most common age-related disabilities worldwide. Literature has shown that cognitive training using Virtual Reality (VR) systems can be a valid and effective solution for cognitive rehabilitation. Virtual environments can be easily customized to deliver very specific training by controlling the presentation of stimuli and keeping track of the user responses. Reh@City (RC) is a virtual reality simulation of a city where patients can train a variety of cognitive skills while performing simulated activities of daily living. An initial prototype of this city with four environments was clinically validated with a stroke sample, and the encouraging results motivated further iterations and improvements in the RC, in terms of its tasks, interaction with the content, and task adaptation. This paper presents the efforts of creating RC v2.0, a VR-based software system for cognitive rehabilitation that presents different cognitive training tasks that take place in 8 realistically modeled 3D environments, that are personalized to the patient clinical profile and also implements automatic difficulty adaptation.
- Comparing adaptive cognitive training in virtual reality and paper-pencil in a sample of stroke patientsPublication . Faria, Ana Lúcia; Paulino, Teresa; Bermúdez i Badia, SergiThe growing number of people with cognitive deficits creates an urgent need for new cognitive training solutions. Paper-and-pencil tasks are still widely used for cognitive rehabilitation despite the proliferation of new computer-based methods, like VR-based simulations of ADL’s. The health professionals’ resistance in adopting new tools might be explained by the small number of validation trials. Studies have established construct validity of VR assessment tools with their paper-and-pencil versions by demonstrating significant associations with their traditional construct-driven measures. However, adaptive rehabilitation tools for intervention are mostly not equivalent to their counterpart paper-and-pencil versions, which makes it difficult to carry out comparative studies. Here we present a 12-session intervention study with 31 stroke survivors who underwent different rehabilitation protocols based on the same content and difficulty adaptation progression framework: 17 performed paper-and-pencil training with the Task Generator and 14 performed VR-based training with the Reh@City. Results have shown that both groups performed at the same level and there was not an effect of the training methodology in overall performance. However, the Reh@City enabled more intensive training, which may translate in more cognitive improvements.
- Characterizing the use of interactive technologies for cognitive rehabilitation in portuguese healthcare institutionsPublication . Paulino, Teresa; Cameirão, Mónica S.The increasing predominance of cognitive deficits following neurological conditions such as dementia and stroke is a major concern in Portugal. Cognitive rehabilitation has been shown to be fundamental to alleviate some of the deficits, but it is not always customized to the specific profile of each patient. More critically, patients typically do not have rehabilitation while they are in the waiting list or after discharge. One way to address these limitations is using interactive technologies specifically designed for cognitive rehabilitation. Their digital nature allows the customization of parameters enabling personalization and adaptation to each patient’s profile, as well as the possibility of quantification of performance. In addition, these tools have the potential to be used at home, allowing patients to continue their rehabilitation and being monitored remotely, alleviating the burden of institutionalization for both patients and healthcare systems. However, before proposing novel technologies, it is imperative to understand current practices, needs, preferences and expectations of health professionals in this domain. For this purpose, we developed an online questionnaire that was distributed among health professionals in Portugal. 116 participants have responded, with 35% reporting having experience in the use of interactive technologies for cognitive rehabilitation. Our results show that health professionals that use these technologies mainly value ease of interaction, diversity of activities, task personalization to the patient’s cognitive profile, and adaptation based on performance. These and other insights will be used to inform the development of novel tools for cognitive rehabilitation in clinical and home settings.