# Assessing a Novel Virtual Environment that Primes Individuals Living with AD/ADRD to Accomplish Activities of Daily Living.

> **NIH NIH R43** · MENTIA DTX, INC. · 2021 · $491,272

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
The prevalence of Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) is growing in an increasingly aging
population. Care challenges to maintain health and quality life for persons living with dementias (PLWD) has
also created a parallel health problem from the effects of persistent caregiver job stress, resulting in staff turnover
expense and care operations risk in a scarce job pool.
Improving the rate of completion of Activities of Daily Living (ADL) has a known positive impact on the quality of
life, health, and healthcare costs yet consistently completing ADLs, and without stress, for PLWD and their carers
remains a challenge. We hypothesize that undertaking virtual ADL activities will positively impact actual
ADL activities, resulting in easier and more efficient ADL completion and therefore decrease caregiver
stress, and, with dignity, improve the health and quality of life for PLWD.
Mentia is an early-stage digital health company that has developed DevaWorld™, a novel technology platform
focused on improving behavioral health for people impacted by ADRD. DevaWorld, as an assistive software
application technology, is unique in that it considers care as a partnership, with the care recipient being an active
participant, even though their dementia may be severe. The cost-effective platform consists of a media-rich 3D
virtual home with interactive items and activities that can be used to build communication within the care dyad
and foster a sense of agency and identity. The goal of the proposed work is to demonstrate tolerability and
acceptability of DevaWorld, and assess the impact of virtual ADL activity on both partners of the dyad,
paying special attention to how consistent performance of ADLs inside DevaWorld by PLWD reduces
caregiver stress.
In this work, two specific aims are proposed:
Aim 1: Expand DevaWorld to include environments and activities most often cited as challenges in
regard to ADLs. We hypothesize that players can be prepared to perform ADLs via virtual world interactions.
This aim entails the design of settings, activities, and interactive avatar actions within DevaWorld intended to
prepare the player in selected ADLs.
Aim 2: Demonstrate feasibility and acceptability of DevaWorld in a feasibility study. Qualitative
measurements using ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) and quantitative measurements of
independence through activities of daily living (ADL) scale assessments will be assessed while 16 players with
ADRD undertake virtual and real-world ADLs (AIM 1) (single group study). The primary outcome of this aim is
tolerability and acceptability of DevaWorld assessed by caregiver surveys and EMAs. The secondary outcome
is feasibility and efficacy of preparing ADLs using DevaWorld assessed by AMMODE, validated caregiver
surveys of stressors and ADL scale assessment scores.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10325754
- **Project number:** 1R43AG071102-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** MENTIA DTX, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Mandy Salomon
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $491,272
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-30 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10325754

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10325754, Assessing a Novel Virtual Environment that Primes Individuals Living with AD/ADRD to Accomplish Activities of Daily Living. (1R43AG071102-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10325754. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*