A Practical Example Using VR in the Assessment of Brain Injury

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) as a complementary tool for medical practitioners in the assessment and rehabilitation of people who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) is discussed. A pilot-study has been undertaken on a prototype VR assessment tool. The design involved nine occupational therapists with expertise in the care of traumatic brain injured patients and one (computer experienced) patient. The aim was to begin a dialogue and to ascertain the potential of a VR system. A common method for occupational therapists to assess function and ability is to ask a patient to brew coffee. From the performance of such a task, an individual's "functional signature" can be determined. The prototype was built using Superscape, a personal computer based VR system, to be close to the real coffee making task, including effects of making mistakes, realistic graphics and sound effects. The world was designed to be as easy to use and intuitive as possible, though problems of mental abstraction level, transfer of training and realistic interaction have yet to be resolved. The comments from the test participants have highlighted problem areas, given positive insight and pointed out other scenarios where VR may be of use in the rehabilitation of people with a traumatic brain injury.

Virtual Reality in Neurosurgery: Beyond Neurosurgical Planning

“…This review is based on 95 references . We identified the utility of VR in neurosurgery, beyond planning, in the areas of neurosurgery training [2,, neuronavigation [15,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51], robotic neurosurgery [8,[52][53][54][55], pain management [56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66], rehabilitation [67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76], and consent taking [77][78][79][80], as well as diagnostic tools [81]…”

“…VR tools available for neurosurgical education and training include a multifunction headmounted display (HMD: Microsoft HoloLens, Google Glass), haptic feedback (NeuroVR, Immersive touch, Procedicus Vascular Interventional System Trainer (VIST)), synthetic tissue simulator (Creaplast, SynDaver, iDU optics 3D-printed models, Thomas Jefferson university durotomy repair module), VOSTARS (video and optical see-through augmented reality surgical systems) HMD-based surgical navigation platform, and surgical planning devices (surgical theatre, Dextroscope, VPI reveal, Synaptive Medical). VR and computer simulation are used in areas of medicine, military, and pilot training to reduce the danger(s) involved by providing a virtual simulator and visual and haptic feedback [12,17,71]. The challenge often faced is that physics-based simulators are computationally demanding and need resources, in terms of software and computing skills, to provide visual and haptic feedback, in addition to formal training in 3D immersive simulation [12,21,55].…”

“…VR has been used in several novel ways, from creating a virtual environment to allow the patient to train in to the establishment of telerehabilitation services, in order to allow patients (who are understandably hard-pressed to travel) to pursue rehabilitation services at home, while their therapist can monitor progress from a different location [49,67,69,71]. In addition to this, in an interesting article by Christiansen et al [67], VR was used to assess and quantify the level of cognitive deficit, following traumatic brain injury, by providing the patient with simple sequencing tasks.…”

Smart Aging Platform for Evaluating Cognitive Functions in Aging: A Comparison with the MoCA in a Normal Population

“…In conclusion, the present findings suggest that the Smart Aging SG platform could constitute a powerful screening tool for cognitive functions on a wide scale. Virtual reality and interactive video gaming represent indeed new promising ways for assessing cognitive mechanisms (Christiansen et al, 1998 ; Rizzo et al, 1998 ; Davies et al, 1999 ; Riva et al, 1999 ; Rose et al, 1999 ; Jack et al, 2001 ; Zhang et al, 2001 ; Kang et al, 2008 ). These tools involve computer-based programs being designed to simulate real life situations, and having important advantages over traditional approaches: they are more friendly, ecological and motivating for the end-users, and their less time- and resource-consuming for the professional figures.…”

The Smart Aging Platform for Assessing Early Phases of Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…A growing interest in the development of accessible and easily administered neuropsychological screening tools for detecting cognitive impairment in aging, also driven by the technological advances of recent years, has resulted in excellent opportunities for improving neuropsychological evaluation in clinical practice. In this setting, virtual reality (VR) gaming and interactive video gaming have emerged as promising new ways of assessing cognitive mechanisms in a more ecological manner (e.g., Christiansen et al, 1998 ; Rizzo et al, 1998 ; Davies et al, 1999 ; Riva et al, 1999 ; Rose et al, 1999 ; Jack et al, 2001 ; Zhang et al, 2001 ; Kang et al, 2008 ; Zucchella et al, 2014a ; Fabbri et al, 2019 ; Realdon et al, 2019 ). In particular, serious games (SGs), which can be defined as innovative computer games designed for purposes other than leisure (Charsky, 2010 ), constitute a young VR gaming subfield.…”