Virtual reality game can detect mild cognitive impairment

A virtual reality brain training game can detect mild cognitive impairment, a condition that often predates Alzheimer's disease (AD), scientists say.
Greek researchers demonstrated the potential of a virtual supermarket cognitive training game as a screening tool for patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a sample of older adults.
Scientists indicated that the virtual supermarket (VSM) application displayed a correct classification rate of 87.30 per cent, achieving a level of diagnostic accuracy similar to standardised neuropsychological tests, which are the gold standard for MCI screening.
MCI is characterised by memory loss and inability to execute complex activities such as financial planning.

Patients with MCI can live independently and not all such patients progress to AD. Therefore the global effort against cognitive disorders is focused on early detection at the MCI stage.
The use of the VSM as a robust screening test could have profound implications for the diagnosis and treatment of MCI, the most important of which is the possibility for automated remote MCI screening, researchers said.

The performance of older adults playing such a game at home could be monitored and an algorithm embedded in the game could inform them when their performance suggests possible cognitive impairment due to MCI, prompting them to visit an appropriate health service.

The study was conducted by researchers from the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH), the Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD) and the Centre for Research and Technology Hellas/Information Technologies Institute (CERTH/ITI).
The research was published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.