VR4 Mind & Motion / Project completed

Virtual-reality-supported physical and mental training for people with dementia

The future care and support of people with dementia is one of the greatest challenges facing society. Currently, about 100,000 to 130,000 people with dementia live in Austria. According to the Austrian Dementia Report 2014, the number of people affected is expected to rise sharply to around 235,000 by 2050.  

Project goal
The goal of the project "VR4 Mind & Motion" is the development of a VR-supported training system for people with dementia, which is to be used primarily in care institutions but also in the home environment. Affected persons are enabled to "dive into a virtual world", combined with physical training on a recumbent ergometer. The basic idea is to allow people with dementia to experience, for example, a forest environment or meadow landscape by means of 360° video recordings and to combine this with physical activity on the ergometer. The main focus of the training is to evoke positive feelings in people with dementia. They should relax and at the same time be motivated to do physical activity on the recumbent bike. VR4 Mind & Motion is intended to expand conventional therapy approaches and support caregivers and relatives. Within the framework of a clinical pilot study, user satisfaction, behavioural changes and an improvement in physical condition are to be evaluated. In addition to surveys, data from measurement methods such as heart variability measurement and cognitive tests will be collected, analyzed and evaluated.

Cooperation partners

• Netural Ltd.
• Amago Ltd
• Volkshilfe Gesundheits- und Soziale Dienste GmbH
• R'n'B Consulting GmbH

Sponsoring partners

• THERA-Trainer
• Schiller Handelsgesellschaft M.B.H.