Two new virtual reality tasks for the assessment of spatial orientation Preliminary results of tolerability, sense of presence and usability

Costa, Raquel Quimas Molina da; Pompeu, José Eduardo; Mello, Daniel Donadio; Moretto, Emerson Galves; Rodrigues, Fernanda Luciano; Santos, Michelle Didone dos; Nitrini, Ricardo; Morganti, Francesca; Brucki, Sônia Maria Dozzi

doi:10.1590/1980-57642018dn12-020013

Cited by 21 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(46 reference statements)

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“…There were limitations to what could be accomplished, but they are working on solutions to these issues through ongoing research. Over the last 2 years, virtual tasks have exploded, with ecologically realistic or episodic memory in a shop environment (252,253), spatial orientation (254), attention (255), and largescale spatial learning (256). Similarly, standard objects to use in creating these environments (257), and free programming tools (e.g., Unity by Unity Technologies) are making this easier and more standardized (See Figure 8).…”

Section: Modernization and Standardization Of Testing Paradigms And Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive and Emotional Mapping With SEEG

et al. 2021

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Mapping of cortical functions is critical for the best clinical care of patients undergoing epilepsy and tumor surgery, but also to better understand human brain function and connectivity. The purpose of this review is to explore existing and potential means of mapping higher cortical functions, including stimulation mapping, passive mapping, and connectivity analyses. We examine the history of mapping, differences between subdural and stereoelectroencephalographic approaches, and some risks and safety aspects, before examining different types of functional mapping. Much of this review explores the prospects for new mapping approaches to better understand other components of language, memory, spatial skills, executive, and socio-emotional functions. We also touch on brain-machine interfaces, philosophical aspects of aligning tasks to brain circuits, and the study of consciousness. We end by discussing multi-modal testing and virtual reality approaches to mapping higher cortical functions.

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Section: Modernization and Standardization Of Testing Paradigms And Techniquesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive and Emotional Mapping With SEEG

et al. 2021

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“…The combined usage of a fully instrumented treadmill, wearable sensors, and an adequately immersive VR system to investigate real-time disorientation among older participants and patients with dementia during active navigation is, to the best of our knowledge, unprecedented. Previous studies that investigated spatial orientation [ 38 - 40 ] and navigation memory [ 20 , 41 ] have relied mostly on VR systems in which navigation or interaction with the VR environment was passively based on the use of control objects (eg, joystick, mouse). This, however, further limits the ecological validity of such setups, as the locomotion aspect of real-world navigation was apparently lacking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Spatial Disorientation in a Virtual Environment on Gait and Vital Features in Patients with Dementia: Pilot Single-Blind Randomized Control Trial

et al. 2020

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Background Orientation deficits are among the most devastating consequences of early dementia. Digital navigation devices could overcome these deficits if adaptable to the user’s needs (ie, provide situation-aware, proactive navigation assistance). To fulfill this task, systems need to automatically detect spatial disorientation from sensors in real time. Ideally, this would require field studies consisting of real-world navigation. However, such field studies can be challenging and are not guaranteed to cover sufficient instances of disorientation due to the large variability of real-world settings and a lack of control over the environment. Objective Extending a foregoing field study, we aim to evaluate the feasibility of using a sophisticated virtual reality (VR) setup, which allows a more controlled observation of disorientation states and accompanying behavioral and physiological parameters in cognitively healthy older people and people with dementia. Methods In this feasibility study, we described the experimental design and pilot outcomes of an ongoing study aimed at investigating the effect of disorientation on gait and selected physiological features in a virtual laboratory. We transferred a real-world navigation task to a treadmill-based virtual system for gait analysis. Disorientation was induced by deliberately manipulating landmarks in the VR projection. Associated responses in motion behavior and physiological parameters were recorded by sensors. Primary outcomes were variations in motion and physiological parameters, frequency of disorientation, and questionnaire-derived usability estimates (immersion and perceived control of the gait system) for our population of interest. At this time, the included participants were 9 cognitively healthy older participants [5/9 women, 4/9 men; mean age 70 years, SD 4.40; Mini–Mental State Examination (MMSE) mean 29, SD 0.70) and 4 participants with dementia (2/4 women, 2/4 men; mean age 78 years, SD 2.30 years; MMSE mean 20.50, SD 7.54). Recruitment is ongoing, with the aim of including 30 cognitively healthy older participants and 20 participants with dementia. Results All 13 participants completed the experiment. Patients’ route was adapted by shortening it relative to the original route. Average instances of disorientation were 21.40, 36.50, and 37.50 for the cognitively healthy older control, cognitively healthy older experimental participants, and participants with dementia, respectively. Questionnaire outcomes indicated that participants experienced adequate usability and immersion; 4.30 for presence, 3.73 for involvement, and 3.85 for realism of 7 possible points, indicating a good overall ability to cope with the experiment. Variations were also observed in motion and physiological parameters during instances of disorientation. Conclusions This study presents the first feasibility outcomes of a study investigating the viability of using a sophisticated VR setup, based on an earlier real-world navigation study, to study spatial disorientation among cognitively healthy older people and people with dementia. Preliminary outcomes give confidence to the notion that our setup can be used to assess motion and physiological markers of disorientation, even in people with cognitive decline. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04134806

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“…The combined usage of a fully instrumented treadmill, wearable sensors, and an adequately immersive VR system to investigate real-time disorientation among older participants and patients with dementia during active navigation is, to the best of our knowledge, unprecedented. Previous studies that investigated spatial orientation [38][39][40] and navigation memory [20,41] have relied mostly on VR systems in which navigation or interaction with the VR environment was passively based on the use of control objects (eg, joystick, mouse). This, however, further limits the ecological validity of such setups, as the locomotion aspect of real-world navigation was apparently lacking.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Spatial Disorientation in a Virtual Environment on Gait and Vital Features in Patients with Dementia: Pilot Single-Blind Randomized Control Trial (Preprint)

Amaefule¹,

Lüdtke²,

Kirste³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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BACKGROUND Orientation deficits are among the most devastating consequences of early dementia. Digital navigation devices may help overcome these deficits, if they are adaptable to the user’s needs, i.e. provide situation aware, proactive navigation assistance. To fulfill this task, systems need to automatically detect spatial disorientation from sensor data in real-time. Ideally, this would require field studies consisting of real-world navigation. However, such field studies can be challenging, and are not guaranteed to cover sufficient instances of disorientation due to the large variability of real-world settings and lack of control over the environment. OBJECTIVE Extending a foregoing field study, here we aimed at evaluating the feasibility of using a sophisticated virtual reality (VR) setup, which allows a more controlled observation of disorientation states and accompanying behavioral and vital parameters in healthy older people and people with dementia (PwD). METHODS In this feasibility study, we describe the experimental design and pilot outcomes of an ongoing study aimed at investigating the effect of disorientation on gait and selected vital features in a virtual laboratory. We transferred a real-world navigation task to a treadmill-based virtual system for gait analysis. Disorientation was induced by deliberately manipulating landmarks in the VR projection. Associated responses in motion behavior and vital parameters were recorded by sensors. Primary outcomes descriptively summarized are variations in motion and vital parameters, frequency of disorientation and questionnaire-derived usability estimates (immersion and perceived control of the gait system) for our population of interest. Included so far are 2 (1 female) healthy older participants (Age: mean = 68.5, SD = 3.5; MMSE: mean = 28.5, SD = 0.7) and 1 PwD (male, age = 79, MMSE = 26). Recruitment is currently ongoing aiming at n = 30 older participants and n = 20 PwD. RESULTS All 3 participants could complete the experiment. The patients’ route was adapted by shortening it relative to the original route. An average of 28 instances of disorientation for the healthy older participants and 12 instances for the patient was observed. Questionnaire outcomes suggest that participants experienced an above-average level of immersion; 4.7 for presence, 5.8 for involvement and 5.5 for realism of 7 possible points, indicating overall a good ability to cope with the experiment. Variations were also observed in motion and vital parameters. CONCLUSIONS This study presents the protocol and first feasibility outcomes of a study aimed at investigating the viability of using a sophisticated VR setup, based on an earlier real-world navigation study, to study spatial disorientation among healthy older people and PwD. Preliminary descriptive evaluation of the outcome measures gives confidence to the notion that our setup can be used to assess motion and physiological markers of disorientation even in people with cognitive decline. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04134806

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Two new virtual reality tasks for the assessment of spatial orientation Preliminary results of tolerability, sense of presence and usability

Cited by 21 publications

References 32 publications

Cognitive and Emotional Mapping With SEEG

Cognitive and Emotional Mapping With SEEG

Effect of Spatial Disorientation in a Virtual Environment on Gait and Vital Features in Patients with Dementia: Pilot Single-Blind Randomized Control Trial

Effect of Spatial Disorientation in a Virtual Environment on Gait and Vital Features in Patients with Dementia: Pilot Single-Blind Randomized Control Trial (Preprint)

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