Conference Book of Abstracts - ICDVRAT

Session II: Cognitive Rehabilitation ISo much technology, so little time: factors affecting use of computerbasedbrain training games for cognitive rehabilitation following strokeB B Connor, P J StandenSierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, Grass Valley, CA, USAUniversity of Nottingham, UKABSTRACTRehabilitation following stroke typically focuses on regaining use of the affected lower andupper limbs. Impairment of cognitive processes, however, is predictive of rehabilitationoutcomes. Stroke survivors and their caregivers report difficulty finding time to practice gaitand upper limb training at home due to the time demands of routine activities of daily living(ADL), leaving little time for cognitive retraining. Cognitive activities have become morereadily accessible to the home user through web-based games that engage brain functions oftendisrupted by stroke. With neuropsychological testing, it is possible to “prescribe” brain trainingthat targets the specific cognitive functions disrupted by an individual’s acquired brain injury.We asked if computer-based braining training were made available in-home at no cost, wouldstroke survivors complete the training? Five stroke survivors participated, none completed therecommended 40 training sessions. Interviews with participants and caregivers reveal barriersto training including physical and cognitive limitations, as well as time and fatiguemanagement. Training also showed effects on ADLs and mood..Figure 1. Familiar Faces. This game involves the user working as a server in a seasiderestaurant. Each visitor has a name and places an order. The server must remember the ordersand customer’s names to earn a large tip. The game exercises associative memory for verbaland visual information. As performance on the task improves, more characters and morecomplicated orders are presented. The user must remember names within session and fromprevious sessions. This screen shot appears courtesy of [Hardy & Scanlon, 2009].B B Connor, P J Standen, So much technology, so little time: factors affecting use of computer-basedbrain training games for cognitive rehabilitation following stroke, Proc. 9 th Intl Conf. on Disability, VirtualReality and Assoc. Technologies, P M Sharkey, E Klinger (Eds), pp. 5359, Laval, France, 10 12 Sept.2012.xxxProc. 9 th Intl Conf. Disability, Virtual Reality & Associated TechnologiesLaval, France, 10–12 Sept. 20122012 ICDVRAT; ISBN 978-0-7049-1545-9