Executive Function Evaluation System Based on Wiping Desk Behavior in Virtual Space

Abstract

In this study, we report the development of a virtual reality (VR) system that evaluates executive function based on cleaning behaviors in real-time. It is known that patients with acquired brain injuries present adverse symptoms such as attention, memory, and functional disorders, as well as aphasia. Current methods to evaluate acquired brain injuries include tests such as the behavioral assessment of the dysexecutive syndrome (BADS) and digital clinical assessment for attention (D-CAT) tests; however, these tests require special/specific toolkits, and the methods are rigorous when applied for real-time dynamic evaluation. Moreover, patients are often burdened by the need to undergo paper tests as required by the evaluation methods. In this context, we propose and verify the efficacy of a method that offers real-time dynamic evaluation of acquired brain injury based on daily-living activities such as cooking, cleaning, and shopping. In this study, we focus on executive function relating to acquired brain injury, and we propose a real-time dynamic evaluation method for executive functioning using VR, which enables the automatic evaluation of subjects’ table-cleaning behavior. Our results indicate that our system can automatically assess subjects’ table cleaning behavior based on BADS test, while affording a cleaning behavior maximum average accuracy of 75.5%.