The ObReco-360°: a new ecological tool to memory assessment using 360° immersive technology

Abstract

One important feature of a neuropsychological test is its ecological validity, which defines how much patients’ test scores are linked to real-life functioning. However, many of the currently available neuropsychological tools show low to moderate levels of ecological validity. Virtual reality (VR) emerged as a possible solution that might enhance the ecological value of standard paper-and-pencil tests, thanks to the possibility of simulating realistic environments and situations where patients can behave as they do in real life. Moreover, a recent kind of virtual environments, the 360° spherical photos and videos, seems to guarantee high levels of graphical realism and lower technical complexity than standard VR, despite their limitations concerning interactive design. In this pilot study, we tested the possible application of 360° technology for the assessment of memory, developing an adaptation of a standardized test. We focused on Free Recall and Recognition accuracies as indexes of memory function, confronting and correlating the performances obtained by the participants in the standard and in the 360° test. The results, even if preliminary, support the use of 360° technology for enhancing the ecological value of standard memory assessment tests.

ObReco-2: Two-step validation of a tool to assess memory deficits using 360° videos

“…The photorealism of 360° environments may have elicited a visual memory encoding similar to that seen in everyday life, resulting in the greater visual encoding of stimuli, easier recall of items, and increased ecological validity of the evaluation technique. Overall, these results are consistent with those found by Pieri et al, which used a minor number of target objects to be remembered ( Pieri et al, 2021 ). For what concerns the recognition performance, the pattern of results is inverted: participants showed high levels of accuracy in both conditions but performed significantly better in the RBMT-III condition.…”

“…The present study aims to test a 360° technology for memory assessment compared to a traditional paper and pencil test included in the RBMT-III ( Wilson et al, 2008 ; Beschin and Urbano, 2013 ). Based on promising results from an earlier pilot study showing the feasibility of a 360° memory assessment ( Pieri et al, 2021 ), we improved technology using higher-level equipment to design ObReco-2 (Object Recognition version 2). Firstly, we present the results of a usability study (Study 1), and then the results of the clinical efficacy along with updated usability data (Study 2).…”

Explore 360° VR to Improve the Ecological Validity of Screening Tests on Cognitive Functions

“…This is due to the fact that virtual environments with 360°video are more photorealistic compared to 3D VEs and are also easier to implement, not requiring any special programming skills. Few works in literature have already showed that 360°VEs can provide a more ecological assessment of executive functions [13] and memory [12] . However, these approaches lacked of an integrated system that collects measures of cognitive functioning, such as those related to the patient's behaviour in the simulated scenario.…”

“…Being a preliminary study, the testing was focused on obtaining results that could be evaluated and collected in a short time. Then SUS was chosen considering the limited number of items compared to other evaluating methods and the evidence supporting its use in assessing VR systems [15] [11] [5] [12].…”

Kinematics of aimed movements in ecological immersive virtual reality: a comparative study with real world

“…On the other hand, however, this reduced the potentialities offered by VR of deploying realistic environments (Minderer et al 2016;Parsons 2015). Up to date, the potential of recreating ecologically valid environments has been discussed mostly in the field of cognitive and neuropsychological interventions (Pieri et al 2021). In such a field, in fact, it is sometimes difficult to assess the patient's capabilities in ADLs by performing standard paper-and-pencil tests (Câmara et al 2021).…”