Progress in the application of haptic technology in the assessment of cognitive function and rehabilitation training for older adults with mild cognitive impairment

doi:10.3761/j.issn.0254-1769.2025.22.019

Abstract

Abstract:

Mild cognitive impairment（MCI） serves as a critical precursor stage to Alzheimer’s disease. Early precise assessment and effective rehabilitation interventions are crucial for delaying cognitive decline，improving quality of life，and alleviating the social care burden. Haptic technology，with its non-invasive，multi-channel sensing，and neuromodulation advantages，offers new approaches for the assessment and rehabilitation of MCI. This paper reviews the theoretical foundations，technical classifications，and applications of haptic technology in MCI assessment and rehabilitation，analyzes the challenges it faces，and provides recommendations to optimize clinical care practices for MCI and promote early assessment and intervention.

Key words: Mild Cognitive Impairment, Haptic Stimulation, Haptic Feedback Techniques, Assessment, Rehabilitation Nursing, Review

摘要：

轻度认知障碍作为阿尔茨海默病的关键前驱阶段，其早期精准评估与有效康复干预对延缓认知衰退、提高生活质量及减轻社会照护负担至关重要。触觉技术凭借非侵入性、多通道感知及神经调节等优势，为轻度认知障碍的评估与康复提供了新方法。该文对触觉技术的理论基础、技术分类及其在轻度认知障碍老年人认知功能评估与康复训练中的应用等进行综述，分析其面临的挑战并提出建议，为优化轻度认知障碍老年人临床护理实践、推动早期评估与干预提供参考。

关键词: 轻度认知障碍, 触觉刺激, 触觉反馈技术, 评估, 康复护理, 综述

YAN Jingjing, SONG Yulei, YIN Haiyan, YIN Tingting, YANG Bingqing, LUO Dan, XU Guihua, BAI Yamei, Helen Yue-Lai CHAN. Progress in the application of haptic technology in the assessment of cognitive function and rehabilitation training for older adults with mild cognitive impairment[J]. Chinese Journal of Nursing, 2025, 60(22): 2805-2810.

严菁菁, 宋玉磊, 殷海燕, 尹婷婷, 杨冰清, 罗丹, 徐桂华, 柏亚妹, 陈裕丽. 触觉技术在轻度认知障碍老年人认知功能评估与康复训练中的应用进展[J]. 中华护理杂志, 2025, 60(22): 2805-2810.

References 38

[1]	Petersen RC.Mild cognitive impairment[J]. N Engl J Med,2011,364(23):2227-2234.
[2]	Jia LF,Du YF,Chu L,et al. Prevalence,risk factors,and mana-gement of dementia and mild cognitive impairment in adults aged 60 years or older in China:a cross-sectional study[J]. Lan-cet Public Health,2020,5(12):e661-e671.
[3]	Löffler A,Beier F,Bekrater-Bodmann R,et al. Reduced tactile sensitivity is associated with mild cognitive impairment[J]. eBio-Medicine,2024,99:104896.
[4]	Marzola P,Melzer T,Pavesi E,et al. Exploring the role of neu-roplasticity in development,aging,and neurodegeneration[J]. Brain Sci,2023,13(12):1610.
[5]	Day M,Gibb R,Kolb B.Tactile stimulation facilitates functional recovery and dendritic change following neonatal hemidecorti-cation in rats[J]. Behav Brain Res,2023,452:114582.
[6]	Parianen Lesemann FH,Reuter EM,Godde B.Tactile stimula-tion interventions:influence of stimulation parameters on sen-sorimotor behavior and neurophysiological correlates in healthy and clinical samples[J]. Neurosci Biobehav Rev,2015,51:126-137.
[7]	Kwon HG,Jang SH,Lee MY.Effects of visual information re-garding tactile stimulation on the somatosensory cortical acti-vation:a functional MRI study[J]. Neural Regen Res,2017,12(7):1119-1123.
[8]	Ibarra-Castaneda N,Gonzalez-De-la-Cerda A,Gonzalez-Perez O.The role of tactile sense as an early indicator of cognitive decline in aging[J]. Biol Psychol,2025,198:109048.
[9]	Iglesias R,Orozco M,Valdes JJ,et al. Visualizing human beha-vioral features based on signature haptic data[C]//2008 sympo-sium on haptic interfaces for virtual environment and teleope-rator Systems. March 13-14,2008,Reno,NV,USA. IEEE,2008:451-456.
[10]	Mallouk N,Roshanfar M,Fekri P,et al. A brief review on recent advances in haptic technology for human-computer interac-tion:force,tactile,and surface haptic feedback[C]//2024 7th Inter-national conference on information and computer technolo-gies(ICICT). March 15-17,2024,Honolulu,HI,USA. IEEE,2024:34-39.
[11]	Zhao D,Zhou YD,Bodner M,et al. The causal role of the prefrontal cortex and somatosensory cortex in tactile working memory[J]. Cereb Cortex,2018,28(10):3468-3477.
[12]	Yang JJ,Yu YH,Shen Y,et al. P1-492:early detection of pa-tients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease using a novel tactile approach[J]. Alzheimers Dement,2011, 7:S270.
[13]	Zhang ZL,Chen GQ,Zhang J,et al. Tactile angle discrimina-tion decreases due to subjective cognitive decline in Alzhei-mer’s disease[J]. Curr Alzheimer Res,2020,17(2):168-176.
[14]	Rodríguez-Fórtiz MJ,Rodríguez-Domínguez C,Cano P,et al. Serious games for the cognitive stimulation of elderly people[C]//2016 IEEE International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health(SeGAH). May 11-13,2016,Orlando,FL,USA. IEEE,2016:1-7.
[15]	Wang LP,Li XC,Hsiao SS,et al. Persistent neuronal firing in primary somatosensory cortex in the absence of working memory of trial-specific features of the sample stimuli in a haptic working memory task[J]. J Cogn Neurosci,2012,24(3): 664-676.
[16]	Wang W,Yang JJ,Yu YH,et al. Tactile angle discriminability improvement:contributions of working memory training and continuous attended sensory input[J]. J Neurophysiol,2022, 127(5):1398-1406.
[17]	Zhao D,Ku YX.Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex bridges bilateral primary somatosensory cortices during cross-modal working memory[J]. Behav Brain Res,2018,350:116-121.
[18]	Arambula OG,Padovani FHP,Corrente JE,et al. Applicability of tactile memory examination as an option to visual- and verbal-based batteries[J]. Dement Neuropsychol,2021,15(3):373-380.
[19]	Bruhn P,Dammeyer J.Assessment of dementia in individuals with dual sensory loss:application of a tactile test battery[J]. Dement Geriatr Cogn Dis Extra,2018,8(1):12-22.
[20]	Higgen FL,Braaβ H,Backhaus W,et al. Reduced frontal white matter microstructure in healthy older adults with low tactile recognition performance[J]. Sci Rep,2021,11:11689.
[21]	Xu JN,Sun YQ,Zhu XH,et al. Tactile discrimination as a diagnostic indicator of cognitive decline in patients with mild cognitive impairment:a narrative review[J]. Heliyon,2024,10(10):e31256.
[22]	D’Antonio F,De Bartolo MI,Ferrazzano G,et al. Somatosensory temporal discrimination threshold in patients with cognitive disorders[J]. J Alzheimers Dis,2019,70(2):425-432.
[23]	Li K,Ma XW,Chen T,et al. A new early warning method for mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease based on dynamic evaluation of the “spatial executive process”[J]. Digit Health,2023,9:20552076231194938.
[24]	Lau SJ,Agius H.A framework and immersive serious game for mild cognitive impairment[J]. Multimed Tools Appl,2021, 80(20):31183-31237.
[25]	Khan IS,D’Agostino EN,Calnan DR,et al. Deep brain stimu-lation for memory modulation:a new frontier[J]. World Neuro-surg,2019,126:638-646.
[26]	Kodama A,Suzuki Y,Sakuraba K,et al. The effect of deep micro vibrotactile stimulation on cognitive function of mild cognitive impairment and mild dementia[J]. Int J Environ Res Public Health,2022,19(7):3803.
[27]	Clements-Cortes A,Ahonen H,Evans M,et al. Short-term effects of rhythmic sensory stimulation in Alzheimer’s disease:an exploratory pilot study[J]. J Alzheimers Dis,2016,52(2):651-660.
[28]	Valle G,Alamri AH,Downey JE,et al. Tactile edges and motion via patterned microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex[J]. Science,2025,387(6731):315-322.
[29]	Zheng JY,Ma QQ,He WY,et al. Cognitive and motor cortex activation during robot-assisted multi-sensory interactive motor rehabilitation training:an fNIRS based pilot study[J]. Front Hum Neurosci,2023,17:1089276.
[30]	王培玲,魏秀红.触觉统合训练对轻度认知障碍老年人认知功能的影响[J]. 山东医药,2013,53(19):42-44.
	Wang PL,Wei XH.Effect of tactile integration training on the cognition of aged patients with mild cognitive impairment[J]. Shandong Med J,2013,53(19):42-44.
[31]	王虹,黄晶.听觉与触觉统合训练对轻度认知功能障碍病人的影响[J]. 护理研究,2017,31(10):1232-1234.
	Wang H,Huang J.Influence of auditory and tactile integrated training on patients with mild cognitive impairment[J]. Nurs Res China,2017,31(10):1232-1234.
[32]	叶磊,夏广惠,陈方梅,等.虚拟现实技术在癌症相关认知障碍患者中应用的范围综述[J]. 中华护理杂志,2024,59(7):882-889.
	Ye L,Xia GH,Chen FM,et al. A scoping review of virtual reality on the effects on patients of cancer-related cognitive impairment[J]. Chin J Nurs,2024,59(7):882-889.
[33]	Sasaninezhad M,Moradi A,Farahimanesh S,et al. Enhancing cognitive flexibility and working memory in individuals with mild cognitive impairment:exploring the impact of virtual reality on daily life activities[J]. Geriatr Nurs,2024,56:32-39.
[34]	Park JH.Does the virtual shopping training improve executive function and instrumental activities of daily living of patients with mild cognitive impairment?[J]. Asian J Psychiatr,2022, 69:102977.
[35]	Frediani G,Carpi F.Wearable tactile display of softness for virtual reality-based cognitive rehabilitation[C]//Proceedings of EuroHaptics 2024.Cham:Springer,2024:278-287.
[36]	田思颖,李苏爱,刘梦娆,等.轻度认知障碍患者参与虚拟现实技术认知干预体验的质性研究[J]. 中华护理杂志,2024,59(5):569-575.
	Tian SY,Li SA,Liu MR,et al. Qualitative research on emotional experience of mild cognitive impairment patients participating in cognitive intervention based on virtual reality technology[J]. Chin J Nurs,2024,59(5):569-575.
[37]	徐雪芬,王红燕,郭萍萍,等.人工智能在慢性病患者健康管理中的应用进展[J]. 中华护理杂志,2023,58(9):1063-1067.
	Xu XF,Wang HY,Guo PP,et al. Progress on the application of artificial intelligence in chronic disease health manage-ment[J]. Chin J Nurs,2023,58(9):1063-1067.
[38]	曾莹,施慧,史雅儒,等.移动健康技术在脑卒中患者认知功能康复中应用的范围综述[J]. 中华护理杂志,2025,60(15): 1900-1906.
	Zeng Y,Shi H,Shi YR,et al. Mobile health technologies in cognitive rehabilitation of stroke patients:a scoping review[J]. Chin J Nurs,2025,60(15):1900-1906.