HCI for Elderly: Dementia

2021

Research Areas

Virtual Reality

Researchers

Noman Maqsood, Waleed Riaz

Despite an alarming rise in the global prevalence of dementia, the available modalities for improving the cognition and mental wellbeing of dementia patients remain limited. Environmental enrichment is an experimental paradigm that has shown promising anti-depressive and memory-enhancing effects in pre-clinical studies. However, its clinical utility has remained limited due to the lack of effective implementation strategies. Objective: The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the usability (tolerability and interactivity) of a long-term virtual reality (VR)-based environmental enrichment training program in older adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild dementia. A secondary objective was to assess the effect of VR-based environmental enrichment on stabilization of cognitive functioning and improvement of mental wellbeing in older adults with MCI and mild dementia.

Riaz, W., Khan, Z. Y., Jawaid, A., & Shahid, S. (2021). Virtual Reality (VR)-Based Environmental Enrichment in Older Adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and Mild Dementia. Brain Sciences, 11(8), 1103.