Serious gaming for cognitive rehabilitation: Exploring the usability of the <i>RehbBrain</i> platform in patients with cognitive impairments

This study investigates the impact of stroke sequelae and cognitive dysfunctions on cognitive skills, highlighting challenges associated with traditional rehabilitation approaches. Commonly used methods such as board games and paper-based exercises may inadequately address individual patient dysfunctions and often lack structured digital interaction. Building upon previous work, this research focuses on the usability of RehbBrain, a serious-gaming platform designed to support cognitive rehabilitation. The platform includes 42 serious games that simulate daily activities across various settings and offer progressive difficulty levels. In the study, no comparison of clinical efficacy or rehabilitation outcomes with traditional methods was performed. For the first time, usability evaluations, including the System Usability Scale (SUS) and direct patient observation, were conducted with a cohort of eleven patients with cognitive dysfunction. The mean SUS score of 72.95 corresponds to a "Good" level of usability, indicating a positive user experience. Direct patient feedback and observational data were collected to identify interaction challenges and areas for improvement. These findings inform future usability-driven refinements of the platform; however, no conclusions regarding therapeutic effectiveness, assessment standardization, or clinical outcomes are drawn. RehbBrain demonstrates potential as a usable digital tool to support cognitive rehabilitation workflows, warranting further investigation in future studies.