BIMANUAL COMPUTER GAMES SYSTEM FOR DEMENTIA SCREENING

The majority of cognitive virtual reality (VR) applications have been for therapy, and not cognitive screening/scoring. Provided herein is the BrightScreener™ and its first pilot feasibility study for evaluating elderly with various degrees of cognitive impairment. BrightScreener is a portable (laptop-based) serious-gaming system which incorporates a bimanual game interface for more ecological 3D interaction with virtual worlds. A pilot study determined that BrightScreener is able to differentiate levels of cognitive impairment based solely on game performance, as well as to evaluate the technology acceptance by the target population. Subsequent group analysis of the Pearson correlation coefficient showed a high degree of correlation between the subjects' MMSE scores and their Composite Game Scores (0.90, |P|<0.01). Despite the small sample size (n=11), results suggest that serious-gaming strategies can be used as a digital technique to stratify levels of Cognitive Impairment. This may be an alternative to conventional standardized scoring for Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia, especially for patients with hearing and speech deficits.