An advanced system to support cognitive rehabilitation in multiple sclerosis

Recent studies demonstrate the benefits of cognitive rehabilitation (CR) showing that it reduces cognitive impairment in Multiple Sclerosis (MS) improving performance of patients in memory and attention. However, CR procedures are still in a germinal stage and have not been accepted worldwide as a standard therapy yet. In this scenario, the use of computerized training systems has several advantages with respect to pen-and-paper based exercises (such as flexibility and immediate feedback), but the use of information technology is currently limited to provide general purpose tools (i.e., not tailored for specific diseases) that support rehabilitation exercises for single patients only. On the contrary, CR for MS patients must be considered as a part of a comprehensive and complex care process that involves many aspects that must be deeply analyzed to build an effective therapy program. In this paper, we argue that a computerized system, able to integrate the various phases of cognitive rehabilitation processes, may have an essential role in improving CR procedures, optimizing them for routine clinical use in MS. To illustrate our claim, we present MS-rehab, an advanced system specific for MS, highlighting its main features and comparing it with other computerized tools for CR.