Use of Virtual Reality in Patients with Acquired Brain Injury: A Systematic Review.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

ABI is found in all societies as the most severe, disabling neurological disorder. A cognitive rehabilitation program is essential for the clinical recovery of these patients, improving functional outcomes and quality of life. Modern technologies such as virtual reality (VR) offer several advantages over traditional therapies, including the ability to engage people in simulated performance of functional tasks. This review will examine the studies in which virtual reality has been used as an aid, technique, or intervention in patients with acquired brain injury.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Studies were identified from an online search of PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases.

RESULTS

We found that TBI patients responded positively to VR treatment depending on the damaged or impaired cognitive and motor functions they acquired. It is now a tool that is available in the rehabilitation of these patients and supports the recovery of various motor and cognitive functions.

CONCLUSIONS

This review has shown that VR is an intervention technique that increasingly exists in clinical rehabilitation practice for ABI patients. The device uses advanced technologies that can cause general changes in cognitive, motor, and psychological aspects and create a simulated environment that can partially restore these functions and behaviors, as well as the behaviors of everyday life.