Cognitive Rehabilitation With Virtual Reality in Parkinson Disease

The pilot study will be conducted at two clinical centers, the Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS sites in Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi (AV) and Florence (FI).

The first step involves obtaining informed consent from all participants. Following this, a baseline assessment (T0) will be carried out, including the collection of demographic and anamnesis data, as well as cognitive and psychological evaluations. These assessments will help confirm eligibility criteria and serve as a pre-treatment evaluation for enrolled patients. The assessment tools include the MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, the Parkinson's Disease Cognitive Rating Scale, the Stroop Color Word Test, the Trail Making Test (A and B), the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory.

Once baseline evaluations are completed, patients will begin a structured cognitive rehabilitation program using the ProBio platform, which integrates the UCBM TIAGo service robot with the VRRS COMPACT telerehabilitation system developed by Khymeia. The rehabilitation program will consist of three weekly sessions, each lasting 45 minutes, for a total duration of four weeks. The cognitive tasks and activities will be tailored to the individual patient's abilities to provide a personalized treatment plan aimed at improving specific cognitive functions. During the rehabilitation sessions, UCBM TIAGo will continuously monitor the patient's physical and emotional state, collecting data through advanced sensors and its integrated RGB-D camera. These data will be analyzed offline to adjust the complexity and intensity of exercises for subsequent sessions based on individual responses.

Throughout the treatment, several parameters will be recorded. The accuracy and response times in cognitive exercises will be documented in reports generated by the VRRS software. Biomechanical parameters, such as movement amplitude and speed, will be measured using the RGB-D camera, while psychophysiological parameters, including respiratory rate, heart rate, and skin conductance, will be monitored via wearable sensors. Based on these parameters, the VRRS system will provide real-time visual and vocal feedback to the patient regarding response accuracy and exercise execution. Additionally, at the end of each session, the bio-cooperative robot TIAGo will verbally interact with the patient to assess their experience, including perceived enjoyment, task comprehension, and ease of execution.

At the end of the four-week rehabilitation program, a final evaluation (T1) will be conducted using the same cognitive and psychological assessment tools applied at baseline. This will include the MDS-Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, the Parkinson's Disease Cognitive Rating Scale, the Stroop Color Word Test, the Trail Making Test, the Parkinson's Disease Questionnaire (PDQ-39), the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale, and the Geriatric Anxiety Inventory. The study also aims to explore the potential of integrating robotic bio-cooperative platforms into routine clinical rehabilitation settings, providing insights into their feasibility and effectiveness for future large-scale applications.

Inclusion criteria

• Diagnosis of mild Parkinson's Disease (Hoehn & Yahr stage II-III);
• Diagnosis of Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) according to Litvan et al. (2012) criteria for PD-MCI;
• Age ≥ 18 years;
• Signed informed consent

Exclusion criteria

• Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease Dementia, atypical parkinsonisms, secondary parkinsonisms, or mixed forms;
• Severe depressive syndrome
• Absence of signed informed consent