Virtual and Augmented Reality Games in the Treatment of Neurodegenerative Diseases: Systematic and Bibliographic Review (Preprint)

BACKGROUND The following systematic and bibliographic review investigates the intersection between the treatment of cognitive impairments and virtual and aug- mented reality-based game-oriented applications. OBJECTIVE The review provides a view into the last 12 years of research in this field. METHODS The PubMed Database served as the main source for the review. PRISMA guidelines were applied and a set of investigation variables was defined and classed into three main topics: Bibliographic, Medical and Technical sections. RESULTS Of a total of 61 identified articles, 19 could be included. The compiled findings from these studies indicate positive effects, of using virtual and aug- mented reality applications to improve cognitive function and depression. There is also a gap in high-quality evidence since clinical trials have been conducted, but only with a small number of patients. CONCLUSIONS Preliminary results indicate positive effects on cognitive and physical well-being, but the field has a demand for further investigation to determine the effectiveness. Future research needs to focus on larger studies but also on the quality of the developed applications. Further, it is important to look at scores CLINICALTRIAL not required