Greek
researchers demonstrated the potential of a virtual supermarket cognitive
training game as a screening tool for patients with mild cognitive impairment
(MCI) among a sample of older adults. MCI is a condition that often predates
Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and is characterized by memory loss and inability to
execute complex activities such as financial planning. So far virtual reality
game–based applications and especially virtual supermarkets have been used as
cognitive training applications and as measures of cognitive functions,
although it has been shown that they can detect MCI only when used in
combination with standardized neuropsychological tests. However scientists from
the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), the Greek Association of
Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD) and the Centre for Research
and Technology Hellas/Information Technologies Institute (CERTH/ITI) have
succeeded in making the shift to MCI screening via robust virtual reality game
applications that can be used on their own for accurate MCI detection.
A large number
of older adults use computerized cognitive training exercises/games as an easy
and enjoyable means of exercising their brain. If these games and exercises can
also detect cognitive disorders, the whole cognitive screening process could
become more pleasurable, thus motivating more people to be evaluated. With the
majority of older adults examining their cognitive health regularly through
such games, possible cognitive impairment will be detected at the MCI stage
thus allowing patients to enjoy a better quality of life and remain independent
for a longer time. The use of the VSM as a robust screening test could have
profound implications for the diagnosis and treatment of MCI, the most
important of which is the possibility for automated remote MCI screening. The
performance of older adults playing such a game at home could be monitored and
an algorithm embedded in the game could inform them when their performance
suggests possible cognitive impairment due to MCI, prompting them to visit an
appropriate health service.
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