Computer-Assisted Rehabilitation Program - Virtual Reality (CARP-VR): A program for cognitive rehabilitation of executive dysfunction

Every year millions of individuals sustain Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) often resulting in physical, cognitive and psychosocial deficits, leading to life-long changes in the quality of life of patients and their families. In the domain of rehabilitation, virtual-reality (VR) technology has assumed a crucial role in the creation of innovative assessment and training programs. The purpose of this study is to present the Computer-Assisted Rehabilitation Program (CARP-VR) after a brief review of the state of the art. CARP-VR was tailored to the rehabilitation of executive functioning and other related cognitive functions in patients with ABI. It consists of virtual environments that simulate real-life contexts in which patients perform various activities that are based on daily situations. The final version of CARP-VR is now ready to be employed, and tests have been designed to validate it as a tool for the rehabilitation of executive functioning and related cognitive functions.