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Kessler Foundation's Krch awarded $600,000 NIDRR grant for virtual reality study in TBI

October 3rd, 2013

West Orange, NJ. September 30, 2013. Denise Krch, PhD, of Kessler Foundation was awarded a NIDRR Field-Initiated Grant (#H133G130189) titled, "The development of a virtual reality program to improve executive functioning in individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI)." This three-year grant is valued at $600,000. Dr. Krch is a research scientist in TBI Research at Kessler Foundation. She is also an assistant professor at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School.

This project is the product of pilot work conducted in collaboration with the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies (USC-ICT). Kessler Foundation and USC-ICT have a long-standing collaborative relationship in applying virtual reality technology to cognitive and motor rehabilitation research. This funded study will extend Kessler Foundation's collaboration with USC-ICT by developing an innovative, virtual reality-based intervention that treats impairments in executive function," said Dr. Krch, "specifically targeting problem solving, mental flexibility, and divided attention. Virtual reality technology allows for the creation of a treatment environment with realistic spatial scenarios that closely mimic real-life, increasing the intervention's ability to motivate and be relevant to real-life function. With limited interventions available that address the remediation of executive dysfunction, the development of a rehabilitation tool to restore these deficits has the potential to positively impact the field of cognitive rehabilitation."

This grant enables our scientists to design and develop a virtual reality-based intervention that targets problem solving, mental flexibility, and divided attention, and to pilot test the completed prototype in a small sample of individuals with TBI who have moderate to severe impairment in executive function.

"Impairment of executive function is a cause of disability after TBI that is often overlooked. Treatment of such deficits will contribute to improved outcomes for individuals with TBI," said Nancy Chiaravalloti, PhD, director TBI Research at Kessler Foundation. "The results of this trial will form the basis for larger randomized controlled trials in the future."

Provided by Kessler Foundation

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