An investigation into the simulation sickness with head-mounted displays in people with aphasia

In recent times, with the proliferation of technological innovations, head-mounted displays are increasingly used in healthcare, including clinical rehabilitation. Until recently, their use in people with aphasia (an inability to use language for communication following brain damage) was limited. Emerging developments in Mixed Reality, combining augmented and virtual realities, have enabled the use of non-occlusive head-mounted displays in aphasia rehabilitation. However, concerns about the possible adverse effects, such as simulation sickness, arise in people with brain damage and aphasia.

To investigate whether a mixed reality head-mounted device (the MiRAR, deployed using the Microsoft HoloLens) induces simulation sickness in general and, specifically, in people with stroke-induced aphasia.

Both the healthy participants and those with aphasia following brain damage wore a non-occlusive head-mounted display. They interacted with the virtual avatars within a fully immersive Mixed Reality environment. Simulation sickness was assessed after exposure using a standardised self-report tool, the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ).

Both groups showed only minimal symptoms of simulation sickness. Most importantly, the two groups did not differ significantly across the domains of the simulation sickness scale.

People with aphasia did not experience any additional adverse effects compared to the healthy participants. The implications of these findings for clinical and rehabilitation purposes are discussed.