Design principles for cognitive and physical rehabilitation of ICU patients using Virtual Reality (VR)

Post-intensive Care Syndrome (PICS) is a condition that affects between 50% to 70% of ICU survivors. Long-term quality of life associated with PICS is a combination of physical (ICU-acquired neuromuscular weakness), cognitive (thinking and judgment), and psychiatric (mental health status) impairments. Current practices have been unable to reduce the number and acuteness of PICS cases, believed to be related to a lack of investment in prevention and availability of qualified professionals to conduct therapy. Virtual Reality has already shown promising results in relaxing and abstracting ICU patients from the harsh clinical environment, however, there is still a great potential to be explored. This article investigates 3 current practices of physical and cognitive rehabilitation for ICU patients and proposes 14 design principles to guide the implementation of VR interventions for ICU rehabilitation.