Virtual Reality and Left Hemineglect: A Technology for Assessment and Therapy

Left hemineglect syndrome is a condition in which the patient tends to ignore the world to his or her left. This condition, which is caused by a lesion to the nondominant hemisphere (typically the right hemisphere), is most often the result of stroke. It results in significant impairment of function. Standard rehabilitative assessment and therapeutic techniques have not been rigorously tested nor viewed as highly successful. Virtual reality technology with its immersive abilities and inherent head tracking functions is a logical tool for the remediation of this disorder. Kaiser Rehabilitation Center has developed a VR system for the assessment and treatment of this condition. The heart of this system is a tracking and cueing program that measures the patient's responses in the virtual environment and provides a mechanism for cueing the patient to attend to the left.