Virtual Reality Training to Support Daily Activities for People Living With Dementia

Inclusion Criteria:

• Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or a dementia-related condition that shares similar or overlapping symptoms with Alzheimer's disease, confirmed by a licensed healthcare provider (e.g., neurologist, geriatrician, or primary care physician); for caregiver-reported diagnoses, supporting documentation must be obtained prior to enrollment.
• MMSE score between 20 to 25 (mild dementia)
• Capacity to consent
• Ability to engage meaningfully in at least one IADL task relevant to the intervention, ensuring capacity to interact with the functional tasks targeted within the VR system.
• Safe, quiet home environment appropriate for VR, with access to an indoor space suitable for engaging in study activities:

At least 3 × 3 feet of unobstructed floor space. Adequate lighting to clearly view the device and physical surroundings. Stable chair without wheels for VR use.

• Willingness and ability to follow the study protocol, including completion of 30-minute intervention sessions five times per week for four weeks and participation in assessment sessions at baseline (Week 0), post-intervention (Week 4), and follow-up (Week 8).
• English language proficiency sufficient to complete the intervention and assessments, including interviews, cognitive testing, and interactive VR tasks.
• Participants must have access to a smartphone, owned by the participant or their caregiver, and be willing to use it to host the VR application.

Caregivers' inclusion criteria include:

• Age 18 years or older
• Primary familial or spousal caregiver who provides daily care

Exclusion Criteria:

• Impaired reasoning/judgment that affects daily life
• Severe visual, hearing, or motor impairments that would limit the participant's ability to use VR safely or engage with the system's content.
• Significant psychiatric or neurological conditions (e.g., active psychosis, uncontrolled depression, recent seizures) that may interfere with participation or safety.
• Medical conditions that pose safety risks, including those that could be aggravated by visual immersion (e.g., uncontrolled vertigo, history of VR-induced motion sickness).
• Significant acute or chronic medical, neurological, or other illnesses that, in the judgment of the principal investigator (PI), could compromise participant safety, hinder study completion, or interfere with study objectives.
• Concurrent participation in other interventional studies, particularly those involving cognitive rehabilitation or VR, that may confound study results.
• MMSE score below 20, indicating cognitive impairments more advanced than mild dementia.