VIRTUAL REALITY AND DRIVING ASSESSMENT AFTER TBI

最近，研究人员开始研究虚拟现实（VR）技术在医疗领域各个方面的潜力，包括认知康复（CR）。 这些研究表明，通过其在交互式和易于修改的环境中呈现客观，生态有效刺激的独特能力，VR为CR提供了巨大的新机会。 然而，迄今为止，只有少数整合VR和CR的研究包括临床人群，并且大多数研究仅限于评估组成认知能力（即记忆，视觉空间能力）和/或评估简单的认知任务。 CR中的一个领域，可以验证VR在评估复杂认知行为方面的潜力，但仍然很少研究，是评估创伤性脑损伤（TBI）患者的驾驶能力。 在本次提案中，我计划通过比较VR驾驶协议和当前的驾驶评估协议，在两个层面上直接研究VR在驾驶能力评估中的潜力：1）整体性能的比较和2）在驾驶评估过程中记录的特定反应/行为的性能的比较。 此外，通过使用标准化问卷调查VR暴露的影响（即，模拟器疾病问卷），拟议的研究将解决进一步了解VR环境对临床人群影响的需求。

Recently, researchers have begun to investigate the potential of virtual reality (VR) technology in various aspects of the medical field, including cognitive rehabilitation (CR). These studies suggest that, through its unique ability to present objective, ecologically valid stimuli in an interactive and easily-modifiable environment, VR offers tremendous new opportunities for CR. However, to date, only a handful of these studies integrating VR and CR have included clinical populations, and most have been limited to the assessment of component cognitive abilities (i.e. memory, visual-spatial abilities) and/or the evaluation of simple cognitive tasks. One area within CR, which can exemplify VR's potential in assessing complex cognitive behavior, but which remains minimally investigated, is the assessment of driving ability in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). In the current proposal, I plan to directly examine VR's potential in the assessment of driving ability by comparing a VR driving protocol to a current driving assessment protocol, the behind-the-wheel evaluation (BTW) at two levels: 1) comparison of overall performance and 2) comparison to performance of specific responses/behaviors recorded during the behind-the-wheel evaluation. In addition, by investigating the effects of VR exposure through the use of a standardized questionnaire (i.e., Simulator Sickness Questionnaire), the proposed study will address the need for further understanding of the impact of VR environments on clinical populations.