Effect of an immersive virtual reality serious game to promote physical activity and cognition among older adults.

Everard, Gauthier [UCL] Declerck, Louise [UCL] Delvigne, Kelly [UCL] Legrain, Nicolas [UCL] Batcho, Charles Sebiyo [Université Laval]

Background: To halt functional and cognitive decline that tends to augment with the age, there are increasing needs for new rehabilitation methods such as virtual reality (VR). Methods: A dozen of older adults (age>65 years) were recruited and asked to wear a fitness tracker watch for three consecutive weeks. During the first and third week, participants were instructed not to use immersive VR devices. During the second week, they were required to autonomously interact with a self-adaptive immersive VR serious game, for at least 15 minutes per day. ANOVA repeated measures tests were undertaken to compare participants’ number of steps, distance covered and number of consumed calories between week one, two and three. Older adults’ cognition and reaction time was also evaluated using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment and a smartphone application. Results: Older adults did not significantly improved their number of steps, distance covered and number of consumed calories between week one, two and three (p>0.05). Cognition was improved between baseline and week 2 (p=0.026), and between baseline and week 3 (p=0.046) whereas no between weeks difference was found for reaction time (p=0.814). Conclusion: One week of interaction with a self-adaptive serious game in immersive VR seems to enhance cognition with a retention at one-week post-intervention but does not lead to an improved activity nor reaction time among older adults.