Peii (Peggy) Chen, PhD, senior research scientist in the Center for Stroke Rehabilitation Research at Kessler Foundation, has been awarded a $376,109 grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Army Medical Research & Development Command, Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP), Vision Research Program. This Investigator-Initiated Research Award funds a two-year study titled, "A Virtual Reality (VR) Exercise for Restoring Functional Vision after Head Trauma.”
Visual neglect is caused by disconnected neural networks and has been studied extensively in stroke but remains largely unexplored in other types of brain injury.
Citing the lack of evidence-based treatments for visual neglect after TBI, Dr. Chen explained, “Our study will fill this knowledge gap by exploring visual neglect in TBI and developing a new treatment modality.”
The project is at the forefront of neurorehabilitation research using immersive virtual reality (VR) technology developed with the services provided by Virtualware, an award-winning VR technology company based in Spain. The to-be-developed treatment is an intensive, game-like rehabilitation program leveraging a combination of VR and eye-tracking technologies to implement an oculomotor exercise protocol based on smooth eye pursuit.
Smooth eye pursuit exercise is an evidence-based treatment that improves patients’ ability to move their eyes toward the neglected side of space and voluntarily pay attention to the entire workspace relevant to a given task. This ability is fundamental to spatial explorations that are required in learning, reading, and way finding. Conventionally, smooth eye pursuit exercise for treating visual neglect requires intensive and close supervision from therapists. VR technology combined with eye tracking can reduce therapist burden. Research participants will experience a VR session of smooth eye pursuit exercise and share their feedback. The study will reveal the feasibility and benefits of applying new technologies to rehabilitative treatment activities.
Research participants will also undergo functional and structural neuroimaging studies of the brain. The study outcomes will broaden the understanding of spatial processing and visual cognition as functions of brain connectivity and advance the development of treatments targeting head trauma-related visual dysfunction.
“Knowledge gained from this clinical study will advance patient care by identifying the neural basis of visual neglect due to TBI at rest and during smooth pursuit eye exercise,” said Dr. Chen. “Reaching our goals will lead to improved visual health and quality of life for civilians, as well as active-duty military and Veterans with trauma-related visual dysfunction.”
MEDICA-tradefair.com; Source: Kessler Foundation
