A group of healthcare professionals, computer scientists, and game designers developed a virtual reality (VR) game to aid persons with dementia and kids with cerebral palsy (CP).

The group, composed of faculty members from University of the Philippines (UP) Manila College of Allied Medical Professions, College of Medicine, and UP Diliman College of Engineering, developed "AXEL Virtual Care: Alagang Pinoy sa Makabagong Panahon," to support the rehabilitation of cerebral palsy in children and dementia among adults.

AXEL Virtual Care is a pioneering rehabilitation technology featuring tailored games: "Mission to Planet Axel" for children with cerebral palsy and "Suroy-suroy" for adults with dementia.

"Mission to Planet Axel" aims to improve the balance, strength, and walking ability of children with cerebral palsy, while "Suroy-Suroy" aims to help manage behavioral and psychological symptoms like restlessness, agitation, and the like in adults with dementia.

The games were developed by the Augmented eXperience E-health Laboratory (AXEL), a dynamic multidisciplinary research laboratory that designs and develops immersive gamification technology systems such as virtual reality for healthcare.

Such systems are envisioned to make rehabilitation more engaging, inclusive, and effective to support Filipinos with disabilities.

"With over 50 million people in the world who have CP or dementia, like Isa and Lolo Pepe (patient models), who experience years of healthy life lost due to disability, the need for AXEL Virtual Care is ripe with potential users,” Program leader and former dean of the College of Allied Medical Professions, Prof. Maria Eliza Ruiz Aguila, said.

Aguila explained that AXEL Virtual Care was designed with the rehabilitation needs of people with CP and adults with dementia in mind.

CP directly translates to brain disease causing paralysis. While this translation is not inaccurate, it fails to capture the many ways that the disease may affect people like Isa.

Aguila further explained that it includes challenges in maintaining a position, moving about, interpreting what body organs see, hear, or feel, or doing everyday tasks that are typical and easy for people without CP, such as reaching objects or feeding.

Dementia, on the other hand, encompasses a group of symptoms affecting memory, reasoning, and performing basic tasks.

Aside from its user-friendly interface, both sets of virtual reality games bear themes with cultural relevance for Filipinos.

The games were described as “fun and exciting, memorable, meaningful, and relaxing” by volunteers who participated in the early testing phases of the technology.

The AXEL Research Group invites volunteers to participate in the ongoing development of AXEL Virtual Care to bring the technology closer to its vision of providing “Alagang Pinoy sa makabagong panahon.”

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), dementia encompasses a range of disorders causing memory loss, impaired reasoning, and difficulty with daily tasks, worsening over time.

A 2021 study projected dementia cases in the Philippines to rise to 1,474,588 by 2030, 1,972,067 by 2040, and 2,529,436 by 2050, with an estimated incidence of 16 cases per 1,000 people.

While more common among the elderly, the WHO noted that not everyone will develop dementia.

Meanwhile, CP is a group of permanent disorders of the development of movement and posture, causing activity limitations that are attributed to non-progressive problems in the developing fetus or newborn brain.

According to the Department of Health, CP affects an estimated one to two percent of the Filipino population, or around one million people.