A framework and immersive serious game for mild cognitive impairment

Abstract

Cognitive decline is common in the elderly. As a result, a range of cognitive rehabilitation games have been proposed to supplement or replace traditional rehabilitative training by offering benefits such as improved engagement. In this paper, we focus on mild cognitive impairment (MCI), an initial stage of cognitive decline that does not affect functioning in daily life, but which may progress towards more serious cognitive deteriorations, notably dementia. Unfortunately, while a variety of serious game frameworks and rehabilitative serious games have been proposed, there is a distinct lack of those which support the distinctive characteristics of MCI patients. Consequently, to optimise the advantages of serious games for MCI, we propose the MCI-GaTE (MCI-Game Therapy Experience) framework that may be used to develop serious games as effective cognitive and physical rehabilitation tools. The framework is derived from a combination of a survey of related research literature in the area, analysis of resident profiles from a nursing home, and in-depth interviews with occupational therapists (OTs) who work with MCI patients on a daily basis. The conceptual framework comprises four sectors that may be used to guide game design and development: an MCI player profile that represents the capabilities of a player with MCI, core gaming elements that support gameful and playful activities, therapeutic elements that support cognitive and physical rehabilitation through tasks and scenarios according to the player’s abilities, and motivational elements to enhance the player’s attitude towards the serious tasks. Together, they provide support for rehabilitation needs and may also serve as a set of comprehensive and established criteria by which an MCI serious game may be evaluated. To demonstrate the use of MCI-GaTE, we also present A-go!, an immersive gesture-based serious game that exploits the framework to enable MCI-diagnosed players to undertake therapeutic tasks supported by an assigned OT. Evaluation with OTs revealed that the immersive game potentially offers more effective support to MCI patients than traditional methods, contributing new possibilities for enhancing MCI rehabilitative training, while a comparative assessment of MCI-GaTE demonstrated that it provides a comprehensive approach not currently offered by state-of-the-art rehabilitative frameworks.

A Systematic Review on Serious Games in Attention Rehabilitation and Their Effects

“…The ability of working memory is also required to temporarily store information to perform actions. On the other hand, maintaining patients' attention is a prerequisite for using their working memory ability [ 87 ].…”

The Impact of Serious Games on Physical Activity, Cognitive Training and Mental Health for the Ageing Population During COVID-19: Implications and Future Trajectories

“…Djaouti D et al explain that Serious Game (SG) is a game used for a primary purpose which is beyond "pure entertainment". 7 Comprising of motivational gaming elements, SG has been widely acknowledged as part of a multitude of digital advances which can aid PA, 8 cognitive training 9 and mental health 10 The Impact of Serious Games on Physical Activity, Cognitive Training and Mental Health for the Ageing Population During... for older adults. With regards to PA, Brauner P et al 8 investigate the SGs in promoting physical exercise via a Microsoft Kinect motion-tracking sensor.…”

“…SG, one of the non-invasive tools, is envisioned to be one of the digital health technologies to mitigate the adverse impact which COVID-19 has brought to the ageing population. The aforementioned study 9 has demonstrated that a framework (i.e. MCI-Game Therapy Experience) as shown in Figure 1, may be an abridged design to harness useful materials for developing a comprehensive SG for physical, cognitive and mental health enhancement for the ageing population during COVID-19.…”

Verification of Game-Based Psychotherapy Intervention Model for Elderly with Memory Disorder Using Expert Review Approach

“…However, this feature will demotivate the user as it is suggested to not include losing element in the game for elderly [45]. Recent game introduced by Lau and Agius [46] named A-go! is proposed for improving the cognitive function of elderly.…”