IVR Motor-Cognitive Training System is commercialised

Prof. Justina Liu, Principal Investigator [Associate Head (Postgraduate Education) & Professor] and her team^# have taken a major step forward in the commercialisation of their Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) Motor-Cognitive Training System [Patent no: HK30085570] through the MedSim Healthcare Education, which has been appointed by PolyU as the authorized distributor of the system. 

An agreement was signed between the PolyU Technology & Consultancy Co. Limited and the MedSim Healthcare Education on 12 August to consolidate the partnership. Under the terms of the agreement, MedSim will be responsible for marketing and customer service of the system. They will introduce the system to the wider market to benefit more older adults, particularly those with cognitive frailty. If the system is sold on the market and is able to reach consumers effectively, it will be one of the few nursing research studies that can generate income for the School as a marketable gerontechnological product.  

Cognitive frailty is characterised by the presence of both physical frailty and cognitive impairment. Prof. Liu, Co-Leader of the School’s Research Area of Excellence: Healthy Ageing through Innovations, found that cognitive frailty is common among community-dwelling older people in Hong Kong. To address this health issue, she led a research team to collaborate with Pok Oi Hospital and other academic institutes for designing and developing the Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) Motor-Cognitive Training System to help older adults, especially those with cognitive frailty, maintain their cognitive functions and simultaneously improve their motor abilities for performing activities of daily living. 

Prof. Liu’s team evaluated the effectiveness of the system and found that it can significantly improve various cognitive functions, such as calculation, memory, reaction and attention. The system received a merit certificate in the Smart People (Smart Ageing) in the Hong Kong ICT Awards 2023 in recognition of its effectiveness in promoting healthy aging. 

Earlier, the Yuen Long District Health Centre under the Health Bureau, purchased 12 sets of the IVR Motor-Cognitive Training System. The centre is planning to integrate this gerontechnological innovation into their regular programmes to help older adults enhance cognitive and psychosocial well-being. 

For those who are interested in the IVR Motor-Cognitive Training System, please contact MedSim Healthcare Education at +852 3568 9009 or email to info@medsimhealth.com.

^{# Team members of the IVR Motor-Cognitive Training System: Prof. Justina Liu, Associate Head (Postgraduate Education); Prof. Harry Qin, Professor; Claudia Lai, Honorary Professor; Prof. Kenneth Fong, Professor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences; Prof. Rick Kwan, Associate Dean (Programmes) & Professor, Tung Wah College; Ms Olive Sin, Social Service Coordinator (Social Services) Pok Oi Hospital.}