Virtual Reality Could Prove To Be Useful Tool For Alzheimer's Diagnosis

Alzheimer’s is the most common type of dementia. This disease causes problems with thinking, memory, and behavior, with symptoms developing slowly and gradually getting worse over time. Additionally, symptoms of this disease could become severe enough to interfere with everyday tasks.

An estimate of 5.8 million Americans of all ages are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s with 200,000 being under the age of 65. The number is expected to triple to 13.8 million by 2050. Additionally, 1 out of 10 people aged 65 and above have Alzheimer’s. As the prevalence of the disease rises, attention has shifted to alternative methods and treatments for the cognitive decline caused by the disease. In addition to providing numerous benefits to Alzheimer’s patients, virtual reality has also helped researchers gain an improved understanding of the disease. An example of which is A Walk Through Dementia, an app developed by researchers in the United Kingdom that puts users in the shoes of someone who is living with dementia. The app helps users better understand the different symptoms of dementia by allowing them to witness it firsthand.

Researchers have now found that virtual reality could be a useful tool in diagnosing Alzheimer’s. The study had patients don a virtual reality headset to take a battery of tests that had to do with navigation within a simulated environment and hypothesized that patients with early Alzheimer’s disease would be greatly affected by the test and perform worse compared to healthy subjects.

In a game called Sea Hero Quest VR, users need to captain a boat and use their sense of direction to solve different navigational problems including how to get through obstacles and complex waterways. Data about a user’s performance is collected anonymously and has the long-term goal of attempting to detect the earliest stages of Alzheimer’s.

In addition to being a useful tool for diagnosis, VR apps also provide unlikely benefits that Alzheimer’s patients would not have otherwise been privy to. Take, for example, an immersive trip through Google Earth could transport someone with Alzheimer’s to a place they may have fond memories of. This experience would prompt reminiscing for people with Alzheimer’s, and promote conversations with loved ones about past experiences. It could also be used as a calming tactic for patients with Alzheimer’s as there are countless virtual reality servers that provide serene experiences and peaceful sceneries.