A self-administered immersive virtual reality tool for assessing cognitive impairment in patients with cancer
Yingchun Zeng, Qiongyao Guan, Su Yan, Qiubo Huang, Jun Zhao, Minghui Wu, Qiaohong Guo, Qi-yuan Lyu, Yiyu Zhuang, Andy S. K. Cheng
Abstract
Objective This study was aimed at exploring the feasibility and validity of a self-administered immersive virtual reality (VR) tool designed to assess cognitive impairment in patients with cancer. Methods In a cross-sectional survey study, an immersive tool was used to rate the previously recommended core assessment domains of cancer-related cognitive impairment—comprising attention, verbal learning memory, processing speed, executive function and verbal fluency—via an interactive VR scenario. Results A total of 165 patients with cancer participated in this study. The participants' mean age was 47.74 years (SD = 10.59). Common cancer types included lung, liver, breast and colorectal cancer, and most patients were in early disease stages ( n = 146, 88.5%). Participants' performance in the VR cognition assessment showed a moderate to strong positive correlation with their paper-and-pencil neurocognitive test results ( r = 0.34–0.76, P < 0.001), thus indicating high concurrent validity of the immersive VR cognition assessment tool. For all participants, the mean score for the VR-based cognition assessment was 5.41 (SD = 0.70) out of a potential maximum of 7.0. The mean simulation sickness score for the VR-based tool, as rated by the patients, was 0.35 (SD = 0.19), thereby indicating that minimal simulation sickness occurred during the VR-assisted cognition assessment. Conclusions Given its demonstrated validity, and the patients' high presence scores and minimal sickness scores, this VR-based cognition assessment tool is a feasible and acceptable instrument for measuring cognitive impairment in patients with cancer. However, further psychometric assessments should be implemented in clinical settings.