A Planning-Based Serious Game for Cognitive Rehabilitation in Multiple Sclerosis

ABSTRACT Many patients suffering from multiple sclerosis encounter cognitive impairment. The use of computerized serious games could play an essential role in their cognitive rehabilitation, especially when these games are designed to train the patient with intellectual dis- ability on tasks typically required in their daily activities. In this paper, we present a serious game for the rehabilitation of executive functions, high-level cognitive processes that people activate to achieve their everyday goals. The game consists in executing, via a dedicated graphical interface, the actions that are necessary to complete a set of common tasks. Automated planning techniques are used to generate a potentially unlimited number of game scenarios with parametrized difficulty, and to verify if the patient’s game strategy is leading to the correct completion of the tasks. An evaluation of the game usability is also presented.