One out of 5 Europeans is ≥ 65 years old, and 10% of Europeans struggle with performing Instrumental Activities of Daily Living like housekeeping, shopping, and managing finances. This everyday struggle is predominantly attributed to cognitive ageing. Early detection of cognitive decline is imperative to slow down the exacerbation of cognitive ageing, yet existing tools fall short in the timely identification of such decline. The proposed project attempts to bridge this gap, utilizing Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) to create an innovative cognitive assessment system, simulating real-life conditions and providing an accurate representation of individuals' everyday functionality. The GERIATRIC project recognizes the barriers posed by the elderly population's often limited IT proficiency and compromised motor skills, which have historically obstructed the effective use of computerized cognitive assessment tools. GERIATRIC seeks to address these challenges by incorporating Eye-Tracking (ET) and Finger-Tracking (FT) technologies, thereby augmenting the usability, accessibility, and clinical relevance of IVR cognitive assessments. Hand-based (FT) and gaze-based (ET) interactions will be developed, evaluated, and compared in terms of usability, performance, and throughput. The validity and clinical utility of the IVR cognitive test will be examined, especially for the detection of cognitive decline in older adults. In collaboration with industry partners, the final stage transforms the IVR cognitive assessment into a potent cognitive training tool. To foster innovation in the field, GERIATRIC will promote the democratization of IVR for broader research and clinical applications by offering open-source access to IVR software, code, and assets to the broader scientific community. GERIATRIC is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship Project of Dr Panagiotis Kourtesis, hosted at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, supervised by Prof. Maria Roussou.
