Virtual Reality Platform for Cognitive Neurorehabilitation:first use cases on Autism and Traumatic Brain Injuries

Agata M. Soccini (1), Simone A. G. Cuccurullo (1), Stefania Brighenti (2), Federica Cena (1)
(1)Computer Science Department, University of Torino, Italy
(2)Adult Autism Center, Mental Health Department, Health Unit of the City of Torino, Italy

Introduction
In the current work, we present a VR platform for neuro-cognitive studies, using which research teams and medical staff can implement specific applications for research and practice in several different rehabilitation use cases. The currently available scenario in the platform represents an airport that can be used for training several social and functional skills. We choose this scenario since there may be an excess of sensory stimuli and rules that make the circumstance stressful and
daunting.

Use cases
We are currently working on two main use cases. In the first use case, our target are people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), a complex neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits
in social communication and interaction. Most people with ASD may perceive as stressful all kinds of unknown situations, avoiding novel experiences, and preferring deterministic situations and routines.
Indeed, this trend heavily affects the travelling experience. Our aim is to use the VR experience to develop familiarity to specific airport situations and, at the same time, to show patients an appropriate behavior as a way to alleviate anxiety. [1]
The second use case is related to post-traumatic training. According to the World Health Organization, Traumatic Brain Injury, often referred to as TBI, has been the biggest cause of neurodisability in the
past few years, and therefore a great threat for public health systems. The advance of surgical techniques lead to the rise of the number of survivors, creating a relevant new population of patients that need appropriate rehabilitation techniques to reach a comfortable quality of life. Our aim, in this case, is to provide a VR experience to train the users to re-acquire specific capabilities, such as follow and memorize common rules, or have appropriate behavior in structured situations, such as an
airport. [2]

Methods and Conclusion
The current platform represents a generic airport, not a specific one, to make patients acquire skills that are not related to a specific environmental setup. Users can experience the simulation using an
Oculus Quest, whose affordability makes the applications available to a higher number of patients.
Thanks to the hand tracking feature provided by this device, users can point at the direction of the navigation and explore the environment in an intuitive way, that is also being tested. The platform is modular and can be used and easily adapted to face different needs. We started testing the system on healthy users, and we plan to test the solution on a group of ASD people in the near future, to assess the usability, accessibility and effectiveness of the solution in lowering anxiety and increasing
self-confidence. We will later test the solution with a group of people with TBI to assess whether it can improve their damaged skills.

References
[1] Soccini, A.M., Cuccurullo, S.A.G., Cena F.: Virtual Reality Experiential Training for Individuals with Autism: The Airport
Scenario. Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality – 17th EuroVR International Conference, EuroVR (2020)
[2] Soccini, A.M: The Induced Finger Movements Effect. Siggraph Asia 2020, ACM SA (2020)