Virtual Obstacle Avoidance Strategy: Navigating through a Complex Environment While Interacting with Virtual and Physical Elements.

Robotic walking devices can be used for intensive exercises to enhance gait rehabilitation therapies. Mixed Reality (MR) techniques may improve engagement through immersive and interactive environments. This article introduces an MR-based multimodal human-robot interaction strategy designed to enable shared control with a Smart Walker. The MR system integrates virtual and physical sensors to (i) enhance safe navigation and (ii) facilitate intuitive mobility training in personalized virtual scenarios by using an interface with three elements: an arrow to indicate where to go, laser lines to indicate nearby obstacles, and an ellipse to show the activation zone. The multimodal interaction is context-based; the presence of nearby individuals and obstacles modulates the robot's behavior during navigation to simplify collision avoidance while allowing for proper social navigation. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the proposed strategy and the self-explanatory nature of the interface. The volunteers were divided into four groups, with each navigating under different conditions. Three evaluation methods were employed: task performance, self-assessment, and observational measurement. Analysis revealed that participants enjoyed the MR system and understood most of the interface elements without prior explanation. Regarding the interface, volunteers who did not receive any introductory explanation about the interface elements were mostly able to guess their purpose. Volunteers that interacted with the interface in the first session provided more correct answers. In future research, virtual elements will be integrated with the physical environment to enhance user safety during navigation, and the control strategy will be improved to consider both physical and virtual obstacles.

Player Experience Evaluation in Game-Based Systems for Older Adults.

Significant efforts are currently being made to improve the quality of life of the older adult population. These efforts focus on aspects such as health, social interaction, and mental health. One of the approaches that has shown positive results in several studies is the application of game-based systems. These systems are not only used for entertainment, but also as tools for learning and promoting positive feelings. They are a means to overcome loneliness and isolation, as well as to improve health and provide support in daily life. However, it is important to note that, while these experiences are gradually being introduced to the older adult population, they are often designed with a younger audience in mind who are assumed to be more technologically proficient. This supposition can make older adults initially feel intimidated when interacting with this type of technology, which limits their ability to fully utilize and enjoy these technological solutions. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to apply a game experience and fun evaluation process oriented toward the older adult population based on the playability theory of human-computer interaction in virtual reality game experiences. This is expected to offer highly rewarding and pleasurable experiences, which will improve engagement with the older population and promote active and healthy aging.

Virtual clinical simulation as a paedagogical strategy in healthcare learning: Evidence and Gap Map protocol.

INTRODUCTION: Virtual clinical simulation involves creating and applying scenarios using technology like computers or virtual reality. This method provides a secure experiential learning environment, encouraging active student participation and stimulating clinical, critical and reflective thinking. This article outlines the development of the Evidence and Gap Map, which aims to identify, quantify and visually and interactively classify existing systematic reviews on the effectiveness of virtual clinical simulations in health professional training. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: The Evidence and Gap Map will adhere to the Campbell Collaboration Guidelines. Bibliographic searches in six databases will follow inclusion criteria determined by the Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome and Study design strategy. After the initial calibration, two reviewers will independently apply the inclusion and exclusion criteria to the title and abstract of each identified study, with subsequent full reading of the selected articles. The methodological quality of the included systematic reviews will be assessed with the AMSTAR 2 tool. The map will be developed using the EPPI-Mapper software. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: There is no requirement for ethical approval for this systematic review. On completion, it will be published in a peer-reviewed academic journal and presented at a conference. This review protocol was registered on the Open Science Framework platform (OSF Associated Project Registration: osf.io/r6wdc and received the following DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/R6WDC).

Evaluating the perceived affective qualities of urban soundscapes through audiovisual experiments.

The study of the perceived affective qualities (PAQs) in soundscape assessments have increased in recent years, with methods varying from in-situ to laboratory. Through technological advances, virtual reality (VR) has facilitated evaluations of multiple locations in the same experiment. In this paper, VR reproductions of different urban sites were presented in an online and laboratory environment testing three locations in Greater Manchester ('Park', 'Plaza', and pedestrian 'Street') in two population densities (empty and busy) using ISO/TS 12913-2 (2018) soundscape PAQs. The studied areas had audio and video recordings prepared for 360 video and binaural audio VR reproductions. The aims were to observe population density effects within locations (Wilcoxon test) and variations between locations (Mann-Whitney U test) within methods. Population density and comparisons among locations demonstrated a significant effect on most PAQs. Results also suggested that big cities can present homogenous sounds, composing a 'blended' urban soundscape, independently of functionality. These findings can support urban design in a low-cost approach, where urban planners can test different scenarios and interventions.

Analysis of Gait Kinematics in Smart Walker-Assisted Locomotion in Immersive Virtual Reality Scenario.

The decline in neuromusculoskeletal capabilities of older adults can affect motor control, independence, and locomotion. Because the elderly population is increasing worldwide, assisting independent mobility and improving rehabilitation therapies has become a priority. The combination of rehabilitation robotic devices and virtual reality (VR) tools can be used in gait training to improve clinical outcomes, motivation, and treatment adherence. Nevertheless, VR tools may be associated with cybersickness and changes in gait kinematics. This paper analyzes the gait parameters of fourteen elderly participants across three experimental tasks: free walking (FW), smart walker-assisted gait (AW), and smart walker-assisted gait combined with VR assistance (VRAW). The kinematic parameters of both lower limbs were captured by a 3D wearable motion capture system. This research aims at assessing the kinematic adaptations when using a smart walker and how the integration between this robotic device and the VR tool can influence such adaptations. Additionally, cybersickness symptoms were investigated using a questionnaire for virtual rehabilitation systems after the VRAW task. The experimental data indicate significant differences between FW and both AW and VRAW. Specifically, there was an overall reduction in sagittal motion of 16%, 25%, and 38% in the hip, knee, and ankle, respectively, for both AW and VRAW compared to FW. However, no significant differences between the AW and VRAW kinematic parameters and no adverse symptoms related to VR were identified. These results indicate that VR technology can be used in walker-assisted gait rehabilitation without compromising kinematic performance and presenting potential benefits related to motivation and treatment adherence.

Assessment of the evolution of psychomotor skills in the robotic surgery simulation process.

Robotic surgery is a rapidly expanding field, given the wide variety of new robotic platforms emerging. Looking at the training of surgeons in robotic surgery is of extreme necessity and urgency, considering the ongoing technological advancements. In this research, the performance during the virtual reality simulation phase of training for robotic surgery was analyzed. It was observed that, in addition to the lack of consensus among societies regarding the required simulation hours, there is no guidance on the best curriculum to be adopted. From the data in this study, it can be inferred that the more advanced skills have fewer proficient individuals, meaning that fewer surgeons in training have reached proficiency in all skill exercises. Even with differences in the number of exercises performed proficiently between groups that underwent varying amounts of simulation time, there is no statistically significant difference in the proportion between them.

[Virtual reality in the outpatient: reducing anxiety and fear in venous puncture]. / Realidad virtual en el paciente ambulatorio: reduciendo la ansiedad y el miedo en la punción de vías venosas.

Up to 80% of children admitted to a hospital experience pain, mainly associated with venipuncture. OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether the use of virtual reality (VR) headsets during venipuncture can modify the perception of pain, anxiety, and fear in pediatrics. PATIENTS AND METHOD: Open label, randomized clinical trial. The presence of intellectual, visual, or hearing impairment were considered exclusion criteria. Two anxiety and fear scales were administered before and after the procedure, and the Wong-Baker face pain scale at the end. The following were recorded: number of venipuncture attempts, duration of the procedure, and side effects. RESULTS: 78 patients were included, 38 males and a mean age of 9.63 years. In the intervention group, the mean pain value was 2.87, with a mean difference (MD) of -0.85 compared with the control one (95% confidence interval (CI) -2.02 to 0.33). There was a significant reduction in the level of anxiety and fear, with MDs of -2.59 (95%CI: -3.92 to -1.26) and -0.85 points (95%CI: -1.45 to -0.24), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: the use of VR headsets in venipuncture in hospital daytime care decreases the level of anxiety and fear in children and seems to reduce pain, without adverse effects. The venipuncture procedure has the same success rate and does not increase its duration.

Effects of a dual intervention (motor and virtual reality-based cognitive) on cognition in patients with mild cognitive impairment: a single-blind, randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: The increase in cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) underlines the urgency of finding effective methods to slow its progression. Given the limited effectiveness of current pharmacological options to prevent or treat the early stages of this deterioration, non-pharmacological alternatives are especially relevant. OBJECTIVE: To assess the effectiveness of a cognitive-motor intervention based on immersive virtual reality (VR) that simulates an activity of daily living (ADL) on cognitive functions and its impact on depression and the ability to perform such activities in patients with MCI. METHODS: Thirty-four older adults (men, women) with MCI were randomized to the experimental group (n = 17; 75.41 ± 5.76) or control (n = 17; 77.35 ± 6.75) group. Both groups received motor training, through aerobic, balance and resistance activities in group. Subsequently, the experimental group received cognitive training based on VR, while the control group received traditional cognitive training. Cognitive functions, depression, and the ability to perform activities of daily living (ADLs) were assessed using the Spanish versions of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA-S), the Short Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDS-S), and the of Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL-S) before and after 6-week intervention (a total of twelve 40-minutes sessions). RESULTS: Between groups comparison did not reveal significant differences in either cognitive function or geriatric depression. The intragroup effect of cognitive function and geriatric depression was significant in both groups (p < 0.001), with large effect sizes. There was no statistically significant improvement in any of the groups when evaluating their performance in ADLs (control, p = 0.28; experimental, p = 0.46) as expected. The completion rate in the experimental group was higher (82.35%) compared to the control group (70.59%). Likewise, participants in the experimental group reached a higher level of difficulty in the application and needed less time to complete the task at each level. CONCLUSIONS: The application of a dual intervention, through motor training prior to a cognitive task based on Immersive VR was shown to be a beneficial non-pharmacological strategy to improve cognitive functions and reduce depression in patients with MCI. Similarly, the control group benefited from such dual intervention with statistically significant improvements. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06313931; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06313931 .

Effects of virtual reality and nature sounds on pain and anxiety during hysterosalpingography: a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of listening to nature sounds alone and virtual reality plus listening to nature sounds on pain and anxiety in hysterosalpingography. METHODS: This three-arm parallel randomized controlled trial included 135 (45 in each group) women who underwent hysterosalpingography in Turkey. The virtual reality+nature sounds group viewed a nature video with virtual reality glasses and listened to nature sounds during hysterosalpingography, whereas the nature sounds group only listened to nature sounds. The control group received only routine care. RESULTS: During hysterosalpingography, women in virtual reality+nature sounds group experienced less pain than those in control group (p=0.009). After hysterosalpingography, pain levels were lower in both virtual reality+nature sounds group and nature sounds group than in control group (p=0.000 and p=0.000, respectively), anxiety levels were lower in virtual reality+nature sounds group than in nature sounds group and control group (p=0.018 and p=0.000, respectively), and anxiety levels were lower in nature sounds group than in control group (p=0.013). CONCLUSION: Virtual reality with nature content plus listening to nature sounds and only listening to nature sounds are effective in reducing pain and anxiety related to hysterosalpingography procedures in women. Compared with only listening to nature sounds, virtual reality plus listening to nature sounds further reduced hysterosalpingography-related pain and anxiety.

Scientometric Analysis of the World Scientific Production on Augmented and Virtual Reality in Dental Education.

AIM: The aim of this study was to perform a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) applications in dental education. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional research was carried out using a bibliometric methodology. This process entailed the assessment of metadata from scientific publications that are catalogued in the Scopus database, covering the period from January 2018 to August 2023. A variety of indicators were utilized to scrutinize scientific production and dissemination within the academic community. These encompassed elements such as the author, the publication itself, the number of citations, institutional and collaborative affiliations, geographical location, journal quartile ranking, h-index, Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP), Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI), SCImago Journal Rank (SJR), and the CiteScore. RESULTS: Several institutions from different countries and their academic output were found. Beihang University stands out with 16 scholarly articles, followed by Stanford University with 16 articles and 170 citations. The Q1 quartile has experienced a steady increase, reaching 87 scientific articles. The top 10 authors in scientific production on augmented and VR in dentistry include Joe Amal Cecil, Avinash Gupta, and Miguel A Pirela-Cruz. In terms of co-authorship by country, the United States, Germany, and China are the most predominant in the clusters represented. However, other clusters also have a significant presence. By analyzing the explored trends and themes of keyword co-occurrence, four main clusters were identified. The yellow cluster contained the largest amount of research with the keyword "virtual reality." In addition, the blue cluster was found to be best related to the green "simulation," purple "virtual reality (VR)," and light blue "human-centered computing" clusters. CONCLUSION: This study evidenced the availability and quality of the data used for the analysis. Future studies could consider the use of VR systems with integrated eye tracking and compare their effect in dentistry during dental procedures. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The clinical importance of this study lies in its potential to improve dental education. The VR and AR can provide dental students with immersive, hands-on learning experiences, which can enhance their understanding and clinical skills. Furthermore, the translational value of this study extends beyond dental education. The insights gained from this research could be applicable to other fields of medical education where hands-on training is crucial. Thus, the findings of this study have the potential to influence the broader landscape of medical education, ultimately leading to improved healthcare outcomes. How to cite this article: Alvitez-Temoche D, Silva H, Aguila ED, et al. Scientometric Analysis of the World Scientific Production on Augmented and Virtual Reality in Dental Education. J Contemp Dent Pract 2024;25(4):358-364.

Does virtual reality reduce anxiety and pain in patients undergoing third molar surgery? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

This study aimed to systematically review the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of virtual reality in reducing anxiety and pain in patients undergoing third molar surgeries. Clinical trials evaluating patients who used virtual reality (VR) compared with no VR in the management of pain or anxiety after third molar extractions were included. A literature search was conducted in five electronic databases to identify relevant articles: Medline (PubMed interface), Web of Science, Virtual Health Library, Embase, and Scopus. There were no restrictions on the time or language of publication. The risk of bias was assessed using the Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomised Trials (RoB 2.0). A total of six studies were included in the qualitative analysis and three in the quantitative analysis. The results of the meta-analyses on anxiety revealed that patients in the intervention group before VR already showed less anxiety compared to those in the control group (-0.28 [-0.44 to -0.13, 95%CI] I²=24.51%. In the post-intervention evaluation, the group that received VR remained with a lower level of anxiety and a slight reduction compared to the pre-intervention. (-0.34 [-0.49 to -0.19, 95%CI] I²=36.61%. Virtual reality can be a clinical resource in dental care because it seems to cause a small reduction in anxiety, and with still uncertain results in the reduction of postoperative pain in extractions of third molars.

Static and Dynamic Hand Gestures: A Review of Techniques of Virtual Reality Manipulation.

This review explores the historical and current significance of gestures as a universal form of communication with a focus on hand gestures in virtual reality applications. It highlights the evolution of gesture detection systems from the 1990s, which used computer algorithms to find patterns in static images, to the present day where advances in sensor technology, artificial intelligence, and computing power have enabled real-time gesture recognition. The paper emphasizes the role of hand gestures in virtual reality (VR), a field that creates immersive digital experiences through the Ma blending of 3D modeling, sound effects, and sensing technology. This review presents state-of-the-art hardware and software techniques used in hand gesture detection, primarily for VR applications. It discusses the challenges in hand gesture detection, classifies gestures as static and dynamic, and grades their detection difficulty. This paper also reviews the haptic devices used in VR and their advantages and challenges. It provides an overview of the process used in hand gesture acquisition, from inputs and pre-processing to pose detection, for both static and dynamic gestures.

The Role of Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence in Cognitive Pain Therapy: A Narrative Review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review investigates the roles of artificial intelligence (AI) and virtual reality (VR) in enhancing cognitive pain therapy for chronic pain management. The work assesses current research, outlines benefits and limitations and examines their potential integration into existing pain management methods. RECENT FINDINGS: Advances in VR have shown promise in chronic pain management through immersive cognitive therapy exercises, with evidence supporting VR's effectiveness in symptom reduction. AI's personalization of treatment plans and its support for mental health through AI-driven avatars are emerging trends. The integration of AI in hybrid programs indicates a future with real-time adaptive technology tailored to individual needs in chronic pain management. Incorporating AI and VR into chronic pain cognitive therapy represents a promising approach to enhance management by leveraging VR's immersive experiences and AI's personalized tactics, aiming to improve patient engagement and outcomes. Nonetheless, further empirical studies are needed to standardized methodologies, compare these technologies to traditional therapies and fully realize their clinical potential.

[Effect of training with immersive virtual reality on the risk of falling in the elderly: a systematic review]. / Efecto del entrenamiento con realidad virtual inmersiva en el riesgo de caída de personas mayores: una revisión sistemática.

Aging entails changes in the human body, generating a decrease in physical capabilities, including the risk of falls. New therapies are currently emerging for the risk of falls and immersive virtual reality is one of them, giving the user a realistic feeling of a virtual environment. This systematic review aims to investigate the effects of immersive virtual reality on the risk of falling in older people. Randomized controlled clinical trials were included, with at least one intervention group that used immersive virtual reality, age >60 years and without multiple serious pathologies. Articles published until November 2023 were included, in accordance with the PRISMA guideline and including the PICO strategy, in the electronic databases PubMed, Scielo, Scopus, Semantic Scholar and Science Direct. From a total of 413 articles, 7 studies were selected, which met the pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria. Of the studies reviewed, the majority found significant improvements in tests that measure risk of falls, only one study did not find improvements in this variable but did find improvements for walking speed and functional reach test. Despite the limited literature, it seems that these interventions can have a positive effect, becoming a good tool to reduce the risk of falling in older people.

A review of published studies on virtual reality in sexuality research.

INTRODUCTION: Virtual reality (VR) technology contributes to greater approach of methodological safety to make ecological validity more feasible and a growing interest in sexuality behaviors. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to show VR in the sexuality area by a comprehensive review of outcomes, offer a synthesis of the studies, and make a methodological quality assessment of finding results. A secondary goal was to investigate the effect of immersion on diverse sexual responses outcomes. METHODS: We designed a review based on a systematic review strategy describing types of studies, participants, data collection and outcomes; searched in 4 electronic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, and SciELO), and made a full-text screening process. RESULTS: The study found 18 articles that met research criteria synthesized within 3 outcome groups: erection measures, level of immersion, and biomarker studies. Synthesis shows a lack of methodological aspects that impair results, such as description of methods from bias protection, randomization, or concealment. The literature still needs to improve its methodology, even though it already shows relevant data for intervention in sexual dysfunction, forensic psychiatry, sexual attraction, orientation, and use of pornography. CONCLUSION: Current methodological issues need better design to highlight relevant issues in sexuality with stronger quality of design, opening boundaries to new diagnostic or interventional technologies to sexual health.

Development and assessment of a virtual escape-room game for teaching industrial bioprocesses.

This article presents a study on the implementation of a virtual escape-room game as a novel teaching methodology in biochemistry education. The game aimed to engage students in producing monoclonal antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 while reinforcing theoretical concepts and fostering teamwork. Three versions of the game were tested, incorporating modifications to address student feedback on and improve the overall experience. The study employed a satisfaction survey to gather insights from students regarding their perception of the game. Results showed that the implementation of answer flexibility using RegEx had a significant positive impact on student satisfaction and motivation. The introduction of RegEx allowed for a more realistic and immersive gaming experience, as students could provide varied answers while still being evaluated correctly. Overall, the findings highlight the effectiveness of the game's design, the suitability of the Google Forms platform for distance learning, and the importance of incorporating answer flexibility through RegEx. These results provide valuable guidance for educators seeking to enhance student engagement and satisfaction through the use of escape-room games in biochemistry education.

Suicide prevention in a virtual environment: a roadmap for simulation-based education.

OBJECTIVE: to build and validate a simulation-based education roadmap on suicide prevention in the virtual environment. METHOD: methodological research subdivided into a development and validation stage. The roadmap was built using a previously drafted template based on international guidelines on good clinical simulation practices and scientific literature on suicide prevention in the virtual environment. For validation, the roadmap was validated by experts through self-application of an assessment form with answers based on "adequate, fair, and inadequate", with a field for suggestions. Descriptive statistics and the Content Validity Index (CVI≥0.8) were used. RESULTS: nine experts took part in the study, the majority of whom were nurses (66.7%), female (55.6%), with an average age of 42.22 years. All the items in the roadmap met the acceptance criteria (CVI≥0.8). CONCLUSION: this study provides a useful roadmap for teaching suicide prevention in the virtual environment. BACKGROUND: (1) Innovative study on suicide prevention, simulated teaching, and the virtual environment. (2) Script validated by experts and available in full for simulated teaching. (3) Introduction of a prototype of a fictional virtual social network for simulated practice. (4) Results indicated the appropriateness of the construction, with good agreement in the analyses. (5) The script enhances professional training and development in the mental health context.

An Augmented Reality Visualization System for Simulated Multirotor Aerial Vehicles.

Multirotors Aerial Vehicles are special class of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles with many practical applications. The growing demand for this class of aircraft requires tools that speed up their development. Simulated environments have gained increasing importance, as they facilitate testing and prototyping solutions, where virtual environments allow real-time interaction with simulated models, with similar behavior to real systems. More recently, the use of Augmented Reality has allowed an increasing experience of immersion and integration between the virtual world and a real scenario. This work proposes the use of Augmented Reality technology and a simulated model of a multirotor to create an interactive flight environment, aiming to improve the user experience in the analysis of simulated models. For this purpose, a smartphone was adopted as a hardware platform, a game engine is used as a basis for the development of the Augmented Reality application, that represents a numerical simulation of the flight dynamics and the control system of a multirotor, and a game controller is adopted for user interaction. The resulting system demonstrates that Augmented Reality is a viable technology that can be used to increase the possibilities of evaluating simulated systems.

Evaluation of the Usability of a Serious Game in Virtual Reality with a Focus on the Perception and Experience of Health Professionals for Motor Rehabilitation in Children with Cerebral Palsy.

Introduction: Cerebral palsy (CP) is a nonprogressive neuropathological condition that requires lifelong neurocognitive-motor rehabilitation. Evidences indicate that the use of new technologies to assist in rehabilitation processes, such as serious games in virtual reality (VR), have served as adjuncts to therapy and capable of promoting engagement, motivation, and motor activation for these patients. Objective: To investigate the usability of a serious game in VR to help with the stability and balance of the head and trunk of children with CP, focusing on the perception and experience of health professionals. Methods: The collection was carried out with health professionals, and the results were comprehensively evaluated through viability by means of the total score, number of correct answers, number of errors, and level of difficulty during the execution of the game, which were collected from the performance report generated by the application. System satisfaction was also verified by the System Usability Scale (SUS). Results: The mean obtained from the total score of the SUS was 82.10 ± 12.66 points, being considered of high usability for the suggested purpose. The professionals' opinion about the usability of the system did not change due to the performance during the game. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that the developed rehabilitation program has successfully delivered the experience to exercise the head control and trunk balance of subjects with CP.

[Virtual reality and digital biomarkers: a clinical tool for early autism diagnosis]. / Realidad virtual y biomarcadores digitales: una herramienta clínica para el diagnóstico del autismo.

INTRODUCTION: Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental condition which traditional assessment procedures encounter certain limitations. The current ASD research field is exploring and endorsing innovative methods to assess the disorder early on, based on the automatic detection of biomarkers. However, many of these procedures lack ecological validity in their measurements. In this context, virtual reality (VR) shows promise for objectively recording biosignals while users experience ecological situations. METHODS: This study outlines a novel and playful VR procedure for the early assessment of ASD, relying on multimodal biosignal recording. During a VR experience featuring 12 virtual scenes, eye gaze, motor skills, electrodermal activity and behavioural performance were measured in 39 children with ASD and 42 control peers. Machine learning models were developed to identify digital biomarkers and classify autism. RESULTS: Biosignals reported varied performance in detecting ASD, while the combined model resulting from the combination of specific-biosignal models demonstrated the ability to identify ASD with an accuracy of 83% (SD = 3%) and an AUC of 0.91 (SD = 0.04). DISCUSSION: This screening tool may support ASD diagnosis by reinforcing the outcomes of traditional assessment procedures.

Introducción: El Trastorno del Espectro Autista (TEA) es un trastorno del neurodesarrollo, y sus procedimientos tradicionales de evaluación encuentran ciertas limitaciones. El actual campo de investigación sobre TEA está explorando y respaldando métodos innovadores para evaluar el trastorno tempranamente, basándose en la detección automática de biomarcadores. Sin embargo, muchos de estos procedimientos carecen de validez ecológica en sus mediciones. En este contexto, la realidad virtual (RV) presenta un prometedor potencial para registrar objetivamente bioseñales mientras los usuarios experimentan situaciones ecológicas. Métodos: Este estudio describe un novedoso y lúdico procedimiento de RV para la evaluación temprana del TEA, basado en la grabación multimodal de bioseñales. Durante una experiencia de RV con 12 escenas virtuales, se midieron la mirada, las habilidades motoras, la actividad electrodermal y el rendimiento conductual en 39 niños con TEA y 42 compañeros de control. Se desarrollaron modelos de aprendizaje automático para identificar biomarcadores digitales y clasificar el autismo. Resultados: Las bioseñales reportaron un rendimiento variado en la detección del TEA, mientras que el modelo resultante de la combinación de los modelos de las bioseñales demostró la capacidad de identificar el TEA con una precisión del 83% (DE = 3%) y un AUC de 0.91 (DE = 0.04). Discusión: Esta herramienta de detección puede respaldar el diagnóstico del TEA al reforzar los resultados de los procedimientos tradicionales de evaluación.