Teaser Figure

Project Overview

Virtual reality (VR) technology has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional pen-and-paper approaches for cognitive rehabilitation in mental health disorders. In this context, the Cognitive Health Technologies (CHT) team at the National Research Council Canada (NRC) has developed bWell, a state-of-the-art VR application specifically designed to improve cognitive capabilities in patients with depression. bWell provides a suite of eight immersive cognitive exercises that target different cognitive domains.

Project Details

Following the initial validation of the prototype, We collaborated with the CHT team to transform the original bWell into a self-administrative mode, with the intention of exploring the potential for patients to use it at home independently. In this study, we evaluate the usability of bWell through a three-phase process, including Cognitive Walkthrough, Expert Heuristic Evaluation, and Usability Testing sessions. The results shed light on users’ demands and habits regarding VR-based self-administrative cognitive applications and inform the design of future interventions.

Research Documentation

Research Reports

The following reports document our research process:

Design Review Report #1

Design Review Report #2

Key Findings

Evaluation of VR-based self-administrative cognitive applications
User demands and habits in VR cognitive rehabilitation
Design recommendations for future interventions
Insights into home-based VR therapy implementation

Technical Details

The project involves:

Virtual Reality development and implementation
Cognitive exercise design and evaluation
Usability testing methodologies
User experience research in healthcare contexts

VR bWell