Background
A stroke occurs when the normal blood supply to the brain is
interrupted for one or several reasons. The lack of oxygen to
the damage area can cause severe problems with paralysis but also
with analytical and perceptual tasks.
This project will focus on right-hemisphere stroke patients problem
with visual neglect.
These patients may fail to appreciate space to one side which
is usually to the left. This does not mean that its a physical
loss of sensation, but rather a loss of attention to the area.
A patient can for example neglect one side of his face when shaving.
Recent research have shown that attention training can have positive
long-time effects to the patients ability to recognize the neglected
side.
Scope
The purpose of this project is to investigate and develop a training
Virtual Environment (VE) for left sided neglect patents.
By using the attributes of a computer game, the environment should
stimulate the user to continously use the training environment.
Several cues can be used to attract the user to focus on the
neglected side:
- 3D sound
- Haptics (force feeback rendering)
- Visual
By implementing a game, for example tetris, using the above listed
cues can result in a training environment which is fun and stimulating
to use, and at the same time can result in a long-time improvement
for the patient.
This project will take use of VRlabs internal authoring environment
for Virtual Environments. Colosseum3D
Previous experience
You should be familiar with OpenGL, C++, STL and being interested
in object oriented design. Interest in cognitive science is also
a bonus.
This project is suitable for 1x20, alternative 2x20 credit points.
Contact
For further information, a full specification and references,
contact Anders Backman
(VRlab) or Helena Fordell
(NUS).
The project is a collaboration with the institute for Clinical
Neuroscience at Umeå University Hospital and VRlab.
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