Virtual reality promotes visual and cognitive function in rehabilitation

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) in cognitive and perceptual dysfunction. Patients who have suffered cerebro-vascular accidents may exhibit visual field and auditory processing deficits, which may pose a challenge for clinicians in the rehabilitation setting. Visual neglect and auditory processing can greatly interfere with a person's ability to perform activities of daily living. These can include reading, writing, dressing, self care activities, communicating, and establishing eye contact during conversational exchanges. Occupational therapists and speech-language pathologists coordinate their treatment goals to address these cognitive and visual perceptual deficits for improved communication skills and performance of daily functional activities. Our focus is to demonstrate how VR can be used in conjunction with traditional therapeutic techniques to facilitate a patient's ability to follow multi-unit commands and increase visual attention to the affected side. The VR technology used in this particular procedure is nonimmersive, which allows for full body movement and immediate feedback. Future efforts to determine the feasibility of VR in other aspects of rehabilitation are currently being explored.