Accessibility Panel

Researchers from California State University Channel Islands, Ventura County Medical Center, and UC Santa Barbara have been testing a low-cost, internally developed virtual reality (VR) rehabilitation tool. This tool was created with direct input from brain injury survivors and is designed to support recovery from the hospital bedside through outpatient care. It is available in both English and Spanish.

Early results have been very promising:

• In the hospital bedside study, participants using our VR Beach Stroll scenario showed significant improvement in eye focus (from 15% to 67%), along with meaningful reductions in pain, anxiety, heart rate, and blood pressure.
• In the outpatient study, participants using both Beach Stroll and Park Stroll scenarios demonstrated improvements in prospective memory (remembering future tasks) and eye tracking - skills that directly support greater independence and everyday conversations.

One of our poster presentations on this work recently won a Poster Award at the international Virtual Medicine (vMed) Conference - an exciting validation of this approach. You can view the full presentation slides here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1tjJ08loDAym6MNpNWsh_qZH01LtizaBWJZE8iesJn6c/edit?usp=sharing

These findings reinforce what our community already knows: recovery doesn’t end at discharge. Innovative, accessible tools like this can help bridge critical gaps in rehabilitation for people who often receive insufficient therapy.

We are now recruiting just five more participants to begin this summer or fall.

What to Expect

You will be randomized into either an intervention group or a delayed-intervention control group. Participants will complete 12 sessions of 20 minutes each - either virtual reality exercises or a memory card game. Compensation is provided: $144 Amazon gift card for the intervention group and $288 for the control group. Sessions are typically held at the Brain Injury Center in Camarillo or Banner House in Ventura, with some sessions also offered at local libraries for greater accessibility.

Qualifications

• At least one year since your brain injury
• New participants only

How to Join

If you’re interested, please email Kristen Linton at kristen.linton@csuci.edu. She will personally respond with more details and answer any questions you may have.

By participating, you’ll help turn real-life experiences into better care and expanded access to effective rehabilitation for everyone in our community. Your voice truly matters.