SYNCSENSE® is used by neurological patients and citizens with brain injury, reduced cognitive function and/or a low level of physical activity. SYNCSENSE® is a 2-in-1 solution that can be used both by those who lack motivation for training – and by those who lack cognitive stimulation.
The case video shows how and why a residential facility and neuro-rehabilitation centre gain value by having implemented the VR solution.
Case video: Lions Neurocenter, Centre for Acquired Brain Injury, City of Copenhagen.
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This is what your colleagues say about SYNCSENSE®
“VR as a tool for sensory integration, relationships and quality of life.
As a psychomotor therapist, I work with body, senses and relationships. Recently, I experienced how VR can not only create visual experiences, but also open up memories, emotions and life story. A simple VR church service turned into a moment of presence, singing and conversation about the meaning of life.
Technology cannot replace human contact – but it can create new spaces for quality of life”
Read Andreas's full article.
"I prefer the VR solution from SYNCSENSE, as it is incredibly simple and easy to operate. The VR solution motivates the residents to engage in more physical and cognitive training and also gives me a tool for effective sensory integration. Among other things, it can reduce outwardly directed behaviour, regulate the level of arousal and has a positive effect on the residents’ choice of social activities.
We therefore experience that the VR solution helps increase quality of life and makes many of our residents more independent. We generally experience that our bikes are used more with VR – there is even a queue for the bikes sometimes because the residents request VR cycling.
In our study we saw that all 3 residents increased the watts, revolutions and time they cycled. One resident went from cycling 15 minutes to 30 minutes, while another went from cycling 1 km to 8 km. A third resident and wheelchair user gained the feeling of being able to ‘walk’ again. The potential of this technology is therefore enormous within training and neuro-rehabilitation."
"VR training is much more than just training – it is an experience. The VR experience can help evoke memories in the user and is used as cognitive training. VR helps increase the quality of life and level of activity for the citizens."
"It has been really beneficial that we have been able to use the VR headset in physical training. It has been a fun and stimulating element that has motivated the citizens to get their training done. At the same time, as therapists we have been able to watch on a screen so that together we can talk about what the citizen experiences along the way.
The VR headset is a relatively simple thing to use and requires neither much time nor training, so it is an easy solution compared to the good results we are experiencing. To get the full benefit out of this new tool, however, it does require that we get the VR training systematised so that it becomes a fixed part of the services we offer."
Read the full interview.
"About 20 citizens have participated in VR training at Lions Kollegiet, and they all express that it is a positive experience.
Even though the solution we have tested is relatively simple, we are very enthusiastic and can see a good effect. We have found a solution that is both easy to use and safe. I hope that at some point we will be able to expand the VR experiences we can offer the citizens, so that more elements of interaction or games can be included.
But for now I hope that others in the Social Services Administration will also use the current solution. I believe that many other citizens than those with acquired brain injuries can benefit from the training method and the experience it can provide."
Read the full interview.
"The VR solution is very easy to operate. It is designed so accessibly that I myself figured out how to use the VR headset when I took it out of the box for the first time – without having time to read through the instructions.
One of our patients with brain injury, whom we had difficulty motivating to train much more than 7 minutes on the NuStep, trained a total of 17 minutes with the VR headset on. In the end we had to stop him so that he would not become overtired. The fact that he could follow along virtually on a trip out into nature and was stimulated by the VR headset had a good effect.
The VR solution is a new intervention that has the potential to pioneer rehabilitation of brain injury and other neurological conditions."
Physical inactivity and reduced cognitive function have negative consequences for citizens and patients at residential and neuro-rehabilitation centres
In Denmark, almost 700,000 people live with a disability (which corresponds to 21% of the population aged 16–64). About 45% of them have a more severe disability, many of whom receive help and treatment from residential and training stays [1]. Every year, approximately 26,000 adult Danes sustain an acquired brain injury. This may be caused by events such as accidents, stroke (blood clot or bleeding in the brain), infections or cardiac arrest [2].
Around 90% of all those admitted with stroke are over 65 years of age, and stroke is the third most frequent cause of death in the world. Approximately every seventh Dane will at some point be affected by a stroke [3].
When it comes to the more than 230,000 Danes with acquired or congenital brain injury, physical and cognitive rehabilitation is typically an important part of the rehabilitation and treatment process [3].
Consequences of brain injury include changes in the physical domain (balance problems or reduced endurance), the activity domain (fatigue or difficulty completing tasks), the cognitive domain (concentration or memory difficulties), the linguistic domain (speaking or understanding), the emotional domain (sadness or irritation) and/or the personality domain (empathy or sense of social appropriateness) [2].
Damage to the brain is complex, which is why no two courses of rehabilitation are exactly the same. Therefore, neuro-rehabilitation is typically an individually planned course based on the citizen’s level of functioning, own wishes and rehabilitation potential [4].
Neuro-rehabilitation is a targeted and time-limited collaborative process between a person with neurological dysfunction, their relatives and relevant professionals, with the aim that the person regains as much functional ability and independence as possible.
The purpose of the rehabilitation and treatment process for the citizen will therefore be the greatest possible regaining of cognitive, mental, physical and social functions [5].
Research on cognitive impairment and physical activity is continually maturing. Research is still in the process of clarifying whether physical activity directly affects cognitive impairment, whether it affects it indirectly through a positive impact on related health factors, or both [6]. But so far many studies indicate that physical activity (as a lifestyle parameter) provides effective prevention of cognitive impairment [7].
Intervention studies have been able to demonstrate positive effects for older people with already existing cognitive impairment, where physical activity has a positive effect on parameters that lead to better performance of ADL functions and other cognitively oriented processes [7].
Studies have so far been able to demonstrate measurable, significant improvements in cognitive functions as a result of periods of regular physical activity, both in older citizens [8] and in citizens with cognitive impairment [9, 10]. Positive effects of physical activity on measurable performance include improvement of physical aspects such as balance, cognition, function, behaviour and performance of everyday tasks [11, 12, 13, 14].
References can be found HERE.
