Gianluca De Leo (center) Chair of the Department of Clinical and Digital Health Sciences, Erica Cousa (left) and Eleanora Brivio (right), graduate students
    Gianluca De Leo (center) Chair of the Department of Clinical and Digital Health Sciences, Erica Cousa (left) and Eleanora Brivio (right), graduate students
    R&D

    How it Works: Exploring Tech Solutions for Elderly Patients

    Staff
    January 11, 2018

    Researchers

    Gianluca De Leo (center) Chair of the Department of Clinical  and Digital Health Sciences,

    Erica Cousa (left) and Eleanora Brivio (right), graduate students

    live-action vs. computer-generated

    Can live-action 360 video and computer-generated virtual reality improve the lives of the elderly? If so, which one is more effective?

    headset and phone art

    To try to answer these questions, researchers in the College of Allied Health Sciences are using headsets and tablets to display those videos to participants.

    elderly art

    Their research is divided into two studies:

    • Can technology help the elderly improve their memory?

    • Can technology help the elderly relieve stress?

    If researchers find that in fact this technology helps improve people’s memory and relieve stress, they can use that knowledge to treat elderly patients. For example, they can treat Alzheimer’s patients by creating memory games using computer-generated environments or live-action 360 videos. They can also treat elderly patients with depression by helping them “go” to familiar places or by recreating happy moments from a distant past.

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