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Brain & Heart

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Immersive virtual reality for prospective memory

and eye fixation recovery following traumatic
brain injury: A pilot study

1,2
Kristen Faye Linton * , Bahareh Abbasi , Melissa Gutierrez Jimenez ,
3
1
3
2
3
Jaylyn Aragon , Anna Gendron , Rasmey Gomez , Sky Hampton , Ben Michael ,
1
1
1
Savanna Monson , Nathanael Paulus , Vaishnavi Ramprasad , and
1
3
Chrissy Stamegna 2
1 Department Health Sciences, California State University Channel Islands, Camarillo, California,
United States of America
2 Department Administration and Programs, Brain Injury Center of Ventura County, Camarillo,
California, United States of America
3 Department Mechatronics and Computer Science, California State University Channel Islands,
Camarillo, California, United States of America
Abstract
Rehabilitation is crucial for the recoveriy from traumatic brain injuries (TBI); yet, only
77 – 88% of TBI patients are receipients of rehabilitation. Particularly, individuals lacking
insurance coverage or facing transportation hurdles, notably within the Hispanic
community, are less likely to undergo rehabilitation. Virtual reality (VR), known for
its mobility and affordability, is recommended as a rehabilitation alternative. This
community-based participatory research project aimed to evaluate the acceptability,
*Corresponding author: feasibility, and potential of VR scenarios in addressing common rehabilitative needs. Focus
Kristen Linton groups involving TBI patients (N = 12) were conducted to identify rehabilitative needs and
(kristen.linton@csuci.edu)
design VR scenarios. Two novel scenarios were created to enhance prospective memory
Citation: Linton KF, Abbasi B, and eye tracking. The impact of the prospective memory VR scenario was assessed
Jimenez MG, et al. Immersive
virtual reality for prospective among individuals with brain injuries 1 year post-TBI (N = 11), who were divided into
memory and eye fixation recovery intervention and delayed-intervention groups. In addition, six participants underwent
following traumatic brain injury: the eye-tracking VR scenario to evaluate its effectiveness. Data from memory tests and
A pilot study. Brain & Heart.
2024;2(2):2685. screen recordings were gathered. In the objective memory test, participants in the VR
doi: 10.36922/bh.2685 intervention group (66%) exhibited greater improvement than those in the memory card
delayed intervention group (0%) after 12 sessions. However, there was no statistically
Received: January 9, 2024
significant difference in mean scores on a Prospective and Retrospective Memory
Accepted: March 12, 2024 Questionnaire memory scale between the intervention and delayed-intervention
Published Online: May 8, 2024 groups after 6 weeks. Nonetheless, all participants demonstrated enhanced eye tracking
skills after completing the eye tracking VR scenario between the 6 and 12 sessions. In
th
th
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article conclusion, the VR scenarios exhibited promise, acceptability, and feasibility in improving
distributed under the terms of the prospective memory and eye tracking for individuals with TBI 1 year post-injury.
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, Keywords: Virtual reality; Brain injury; Memory; Eye tracking; Eye fixation
provided the original work is
properly cited.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with 1. Introduction
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional Early rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients is associated with improved
affiliations. functional abilities; however, environmental barriers to accessing rehabilitation services

Volume 2 Issue 2 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/bh.2685