Development of Virtual Reality Systems for Tests and Rehabilitation of Patients with Hemispatial Neglect

In the present study, we have developed a virtual reality system for tests and rehabilitation of patients with hemispatial neglect. The system is more compact, portable and easy to set up than the old system the authors previously proposed. Because the system can measure the subject's eyesight information online, we can make rehabilitation scenarios based on eyesight feedback. This technique enabled healthy subjects to become simulated patients with hemispatial neglect by vanishing objects existing in the left side of the point of view. In addition, two kinds of tasks of the training scenario were proposed by using the subject's eyesight information. The results of the experiment showed that the simulated patients also shifted their gazes toward the intact side and that a dynamic cue was effective for encouraging their attention to direct to the neglected side.