Virtual Cognitive Rehab (VCR)

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Virtual Cognitive Rehabilitation (VCR) Tech ID: UA20-069 Invention: This invention is a phone-based application that utilizes existing technology like Android smartphones and the Oculus RIFT Virtual Reality headset system, to provide navigational tasks centered around exploitation of virtual worlds for the treatment of patients with cognitive impairments, particularly those that have experienced a traumatic brain injury. Background: Virtual reality (VR) has been expanding rapidly in the last few years, with systems drastically decreasing in price and increasing in portability with all-in-one configurations that have high accuracy and visual resolution to compete in the market. These products have also expanded widely into many industries including, logistics, virtual training, entertainment, healthcare, and therapy. Virtual rehabilitation is currently being used to treat patients that have suffered physical injuries with enduring morbidities including trouble with encoding or retrieving information or problem solving. This technology takes the therapeutic power of VR to treat mental ailments and damage that patients have faced due to a traumatic brain injury. This technology allows patients to undergo rehabilitation exercises on their own and without guidance. VR platforms allow patients to explore virtual worlds designed with rapid changes to enhance novelty. Moreover, VR platforms have the ability to track the distance and paths taken by the patient, which is a powerful tool for the rehabilitation of patients that have suffered neurological injury.