Virtual Reality as a Technological-Aided Solution to Support Communication in Persons With Neurodegenerative Diseases and Acquired Brain Injury During COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 poses an ongoing threat to lives around the world and challenges the existing public health and medical service delivery. The lockdown or quarantine measures adopted to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has caused the interruption in ongoing care and access to medical care including to patients with existing neurological conditions. Besides the passivity, isolation, and withdrawal, patients with neurodegenerative diseases experience difficulties in communication due to a limited access to leisure opportunities and interaction with friends and relatives. The communication difficulties may exacerbate the burden on the caregivers. Therefore, assistive-technologies may be a useful strategy in mitigating challenges associated with remote communication. The current paper presents an overview of the use of assistive technologies using virtual reality and virtual body ownership in providing communication opportunities to isolated patients, during COVID-19, with neurological diseases and moderate-to-severe communication difficulties. We postulate that the assistive technologies-based intervention may improve social interactions in patients with neurodegenerative diseases and acquired brain injury-thereby reducing isolation and improving their quality of life and mental well-being.

The Smart Aging Platform for Assessing Early Phases of Cognitive Impairment in Patients With Neurodegenerative Diseases

“…The many advantages offered by VR environments over traditional cognitive screening tests make this platform an innovative tool for clinicians and researchers interested in exploring cognitive mechanisms. We are now seeing a surge of interest in remote communication technologies as assessment tools (e.g., Geddes et al, 2020;Phillips et al, 2020;Scuteri et al, 2020) and treatment (Zucchella et al, 2018;Bloem et al, 2020;Maggio et al, 2020;Mantovani et al, 2020;Platz and Sandrini, 2020;Stasolla et al, 2020;Bernini et al, 2021) for use in all situations in which it is not possible to guarantee patients' continuity of care. In the context of the ongoing public health emergency, Smart Aging might be considered an innovative approach and valid support, making it possible to monitor cognitive function of individuals with neurodegenerative diseases remotely and safely in their own homes.…”

Could Avatar Therapy Enhance Mental Health in Chronic Patients? A Systematic Review

“…Therapies based on virtual reality are very promising, due to their potential use during the lockdowns brought about by the pandemic, as can be seen in several recently published studies [67][68][69][70]. The events that have unfolded over the last year as a result of the pandemic have driven important growth in virtual reality technology in order to provide online care.…”

Virtual Reality and Wearable Technologies to Support Adaptive Responding of Children and Adolescents With Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Critical Comment and New Perspectives

“…Recently, Stasolla et al ( 2021 ) developed new virtual reality-aided solutions to remotely evaluate and recovery cognitive functioning among individuals with neurodegenerative diseases to promote cognitive empowerment (Fabio et al, 2020 ). Internet access and leisure option were embedded in patients with neurological disorders.…”

“…A critical comment on the literature available within this framework was detailed and constructively argued. A new home-based cognitive rehabilitation software recently proposed in patients with neurodegenerative diseases and a virtual reality setup as a technological-aided strategy (Bernini et al, 2021 ; Stasolla et al, 2021 ) were presented as a perspective solution during Covid-19 pandemic era. Thus, social distancing and quarantine preventive measures forced and confined children and adolescents with NDD in their homes.…”