Immersive Virtual Reality as Physical and Cognitive Therapy in Acquired Brain Injury: TEVI-DCA Program

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. Immersive virtual reality (IVR) is an emerging tool in the field of neurological rehabilitation that has shown promising results, although it has been little studied in patients with ABI. The main objective of this study was to explore the feasibility of a TEVI-DCA program as a rehabilitation tool for people with ABI. In this study, 14 people with ABI were recruited (mean age of 52.43 years (range from 35 to 65 years), 57.1% men) and took part in a twice-weekly IVR therapy program. The intervention was feasible and safe. The participants completed the program with no adverse effects (no symptoms on the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire), and experienced high usability (System Usability Scale > 80%) and outstandingly positive post-game experiences (Game Experience Questionnaire 2.56/4). In addition, the participants significantly improved several of their physical and cognitive capacities, showing increased strength (handgrip p = 0.042), reduced fall risk (Tinetti test p < 0.001), an increase in the physical component of the quality of life (PCS-SF-8 p = 0.006), and improved executive functions (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test p = 0.005). These findings demonstrate that the TEVI-DCA program appears to be a feasible therapeutic tool for people with ABI, as it has shown maximum adherence, with an absence of adverse events, and was shown to lead to improvements in physical–cognitive aspects, although further studies are needed to corroborate the findings of this study.