Mobile Technology for Cognitive Rehabilitation

Many barriers currently prevent persons living with acquired brain injury (ABI) from receiving an adequate “dose” of cognitive rehabilitation therapy via the traditional clinic-based service delivery model. The application of mobile technology to cognitive rehabilitation is an emerging area of great interest. Advances in mobile technology provide new opportunities for cognitive rehabilitation, with the potential to improve access to care, as well as increase patients’ opportunities to practice and apply skills in their everyday environments—a notion referred to as ecologically valid treatment. The aim of this chapter is to provide an overview of mobile technology in the context of cognitive rehabilitation, with a special focus on applications and interventions targeted towards patients with ABI. We provide a general background on cognitive rehabilitation as a treatment model, discuss opportunities and considerations for developing mobile rehabilitation solutions for users with cognitive impairment, and provide a general overview of the state of the research on mobile cognitive rehab treatments. The vast majority of mobile health apps are not evidence based at present (Ramey et al. in Phys Med Rehabil Clin 30(2):485–97, 2019), however, a small but growing literature is now speaking to the use of smart technologies to both help improve functioning and monitor functioning for persons with ABI. We highlight several areas for future development needed to move towards developing clinical practice guidelines for integrating mobile technology into cognitive rehabilitation.