A widely applied and effective rehabilitation method for patients experiencing spatial neglect after a stroke is “visual exploration training.” Patients improve their ipsilesional bias of attention and orientation by training exploration movements and search strategies toward the contralesional side of space. In this context, gamification can have a positive influence on motivation for treatment and thus on the success of treatment. In contrast to virtual reality applications, treatment enhancements through augmented reality (AR) have not yet been investigated, although they offer some advantages over virtual reality.
Speakers
Britta Stammler M.S.
Neuropsychologist and Researcher, University Hospital Tübingen
Neuropsychologist and Researcher, University Hospital Tübingen
Britta Stammler started her PhD in 2021 at the University Hospital of Tübingen in the Division of Neuropsychology with Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans-Otto Karnath after completing her Master's degree in Clinical Psychology in Hamburg. As part of her doctoral thesis, she developed an Augmented Reality app called "Negami" for the treatment of unilateral neglect after a stroke. She tested the feasibility and efficacy of the app in a randomized controlled trial in different rehabilitation facilities in Germany. She presented the promising research results of the augmented reality app "Negami" at the Congress of the Society of Neuropsychology 2022 in Marburg, Germany; the German Psychotherapy Congress 2023 in Berlin, Germany; the Workshop on Treatment of Visual and Visuospatial Deficits after Brain Damage 2023 in Oldenburg, Germany; and the Congress of the Federation of the European Societies of Neuropsychology 2023 in Thessaloniki, Greece, among others.
Currently, she works as a neuropsychologist at the Day Clinic for Stroke Patients at the University Hospital of Tübingen, Germany, and continues to conduct therapeutic and diagnostic research. As a neuropsychologist, it is her quest for the best possible patient treatment that drives and encourages her to develop and implement medical XR methods in clinical practice.
Moderators
Margot Dorothy Paul Psy.D.
Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine
Clinical Assistant Professor, Stanford University School of Medicine
Margot Paul graduated from the PGSP-Stanford Psy.D. Consortium in 2022, where she won the award for Outstanding Overall Student (2021). She completed her clinical psychology doctoral internship at the Sepulveda VA in Los Angeles. She is currently a clinical psychology postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine, where she is continuing her research on using VR as a method of engaging in behavioral activation for individuals with depression. Dr. Paul began her VR work in 2017 after joining Dr. Kim Bullock’s Virtual Reality-Immersive Technology Clinic & Laboratory in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences at Stanford School of Medicine. For her doctoral dissertation, Dr. Paul designed a feasibility study and three-arm pilot randomized controlled trial to examine the feasibility of using a VR headset as a way to administer behavioral activation therapy for participants with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder. She presented her research findings as a speaker at Shift Medical 2021: Virtual Medical XR Congress and Expo (2021) and at Stanford Psychiatry Grand Rounds (2022). She is scheduled to present her current VR research at IVRHA’s 7th Annual Virtual Reality and Healthcare Global Symposium (2023), VMed23 (2023), and ADAA Conference (2023). Dr. Paul also won the Cheryl Koopman Dissertation of the Year Award. Dr. Paul has worked and consulted with VR companies and local Bay Area startups in the technology and mental health space. She has published on her virtual reality work.
