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A Customizable Virtual Reality Framework for the Rehabilitation of Cognitive Functions

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Book cover Recent Advances in Technologies for Inclusive Well-Being

Part of the book series: Intelligent Systems Reference Library ((ISRL,volume 119 ))

Abstract

Brain injury can cause a variety of physical effects and cognitive deficits. Although it has not yet been systematically adopted in clinical settings, virtual reality promises to be an excellent therapeutic tool for regaining both locomotor and neurological capacities. This work presents the design and implementation of VR\(^2\) (Virtual Reality Rehabilitation), a customizable rehabilitation framework intended to enable the creation of motivating rehabilitation scenarios based on an ecologically valid semi-immersive system. Following the implementation phase, a study to test the acceptability of VR\(^2\) in a group of subjects with cerebral lesions was conducted to investigate the usability of the framework. The group consisted of 11 people from 22 to 70 years of age, who were divided into two groups depending on the chronicity of disorder. The adequacy of the interface between patient and system was verified through questionnaires containing subjective questions, which revealed good overall acceptance and enjoyment of the tool. Moreover, to obtain early results useful for tuning the overall system in preparation for rigorous clinical trials, a set of preliminary cognitive tests concerning the rehabilitation protocol was conducted within the same group. Although the preliminary findings are promising and reveal a positive trend in neurocognitive investigations, the system should undergo clinical trials before being used in real clinical settings.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A video showing the interaction with the system is available at http://youtu.be/HCldmXLUz8E.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prof. Giuliano Geminiani, who supervised the work and provided insights and expertise that greatly assisted in this research. We are also immensely grateful to Dr. Marina Zettin, who supported the entire work and provided access to the host institution (Centro Puzzle), where we recruited the patients. This research was supported by the University of Turin and Centro Puzzle.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Dipartimento di Automatica e Informatica, Politecnico di Torino, Corso Duca Degli Abruzzi 24, 10129, Turin, Italy

    Gianluca Paravati, Fabrizio Lamberti, Andrea Sanna & Claudio Giovanni Demartini

  2. Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università Degli Studi di Torino, Via Verdi 10, 10124, Turin, Italy

    Valeria Maria Spataro

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  1. Gianluca Paravati
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  2. Valeria Maria Spataro
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  3. Fabrizio Lamberti
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  4. Andrea Sanna
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  5. Claudio Giovanni Demartini
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Correspondence to Gianluca Paravati .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Aalborg University Esbjerg, Esbjerg, Denmark

    Anthony Lewis Brooks

  2. Computer Information Systems, Missouri State University, Springfield, Missouri, USA

    Sheryl Brahnam

  3. Faculty of Business and Information Tech, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada

    Bill Kapralos

  4. University of South Australia, Bournemouth University, Poole, UK, and University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia

    Lakhmi C. Jain

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Paravati, G., Spataro, V.M., Lamberti, F., Sanna, A., Demartini, C.G. (2017). A Customizable Virtual Reality Framework for the Rehabilitation of Cognitive Functions. In: Brooks, A., Brahnam, S., Kapralos, B., Jain, L. (eds) Recent Advances in Technologies for Inclusive Well-Being. Intelligent Systems Reference Library, vol 119 . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49879-9_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-49879-9_4

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