Nursing home residents 'travel' the world, thanks to virtual reality
Madam Koh Foong Peng, 81, can walk only with the aid of her walking stick, but that did not stop her from "travelling" to the Great Wall of China.
She even visited an aquatic safari park and immersed herself in nature at a campsite, all thanks to virtual reality (VR).
She was among the 22 residents at Methodist Welfare Services nursing home in Yew Tee who were selected to test the feasibility of VR in the home on April 14.
During the session, residents tried their hand at four VR applications from US company Oculus on 11 sets of Samsung Gear VR loaned to the home by Limbang CC Youth Executive Committee.
The apps selected by senior occupational therapist Diyanah Yusoff, 28, were: Happy Place, a campsite; Ocean Rift, an aquatic safari park; Bait!, a fishing game; and Gala360 - See The World, which transports participants to places of interest around the world.
She said: "We choose applications with beautiful scenery to give residents the experience of being transported out of the nursing home.
"For example, Ocean Rift allows residents to go diving underwater without a diving certificate as our residents are often limited by physical factors."
WITHOUT LIMITS
Mr Looi Yin Soon, 70, who had a stroke in 1999 and requires assistance in his daily activities, said: "I have never seen anything like this before. My first impression was that it really felt like I was on a holiday.
"It is great we have such advanced technology now."
The director of nursing at the home, Madam Penny Tan, 64, said the nursing home staff have been studying the benefits of VR since January last year.
Madam Tan said: "Most of our residents spend most of their time within the nursing home. Through VR, residents can explore the outside world without the limits of their physical constraints."
Head of the home, Mr Richard Koh, added that the home will be introducing VR to all 147 residents in the near future.
He said: "We have always believed in the power of technology, and whenever possible, we will leverage on such tools to enrich the lives of our residents.
"Going forward, we are exploring the possibility of implementing VR for rehab and in reminiscence therapy for our dementia patients."
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