WASHINGTON, D.C.: Scientists have developed a virtual reality smartphone app to help people gain insight into the varied symptoms people with dementia experience in everyday life.
The app, called A Walk Through Dementia, was developed by Alzheimer’s Research UK and virtual reality company VISYON, and uses the widely-available Google Cardboard headset to put the public in the shoes of someone with dementia.
This is the first time a smartphone Cardboard app has been used to engage the public with the condition, researchers said.
The experience uses a combination of computer generated environments and 360 degree video sequences to illustrate in powerful detail how even the most everyday task of making a cup of tea can become a challenge for someone with dementia.
Unfolding over three scenarios, the user is tasked with buying ingredients, taking them home and making a cup of tea for their family. A supermarket environment unveils difficulties at the checkout, counting money, reading the shopping list, busy environments and finding items.
A second street sequence illustrates problems people with dementia may face with navigation, visual-spatial problems and disorientation.
Finally, back at home, making tea for visiting family presents challenges around memorising instructions, visual symptoms and coordination problems….