Evaluation of the Reaction Time and Accuracy Rate in Normal Subjects, MCI, and Dementia Using Serious Games

The main purpose of this research is to evaluate the differences in the reaction time and accuracy rate of three categories of subjects using our serious games. Thirty-seven subjects were divided into three groups: normal (n(1) = 16), MCI (Mild Cognitive Impairment) (n(2) = 10), and dementia-moderate-to-severe (n(3) = 11) groups based on the MMSE (Mini Mental State Examination). Two serious games were designed: (1) whack-a-mole and (2) hit-the-ball. Two dependent variables, reaction time and accuracy rate, were statistically analyzed to compare elders' performances in the games among the three groups for three levels of speed: slow, medium, and fast. There were significance differences between the normal group, the MCI group, and the moderate-to-severe dementia group in both the reaction-time and accuracy-rate analyses. We determined that the reaction times of the MCI and dementia groups were shorter compared to those of the normal group, with poorer results also observed in accuracy rate. Therefore, we conclude that our serious games have the feasibility to evaluate reaction performance and could be used in the daily lives of elders followed by clinical treatment in the future.