Applications of virtual reality for the assessment and treatment of topographical disorientation: a project

The traditional tools afforded by neuropsychology have proved to be of considerable service not only for the description of the clinical course of illnesses, but also for their nosographic and diagnostic contextualization. Virtual reality technology appears to be able to take on a valued role within the variety of diagnostic tools that are necessary for an adequate assessment of impairments of executive function. Development of diagnostic tools based on virtual reality may be cost-effective, particularly with respect to old but still widely used paper-and-pencil tests. The aim of the project presented in this paper is the creation and validation of various VEs to improve the assessment and rehabilitation of topographical disorientation, a disease present in various cerebral pathologies.