Driving is something most people do on a regular basis. The driver’s mental processes and underlying behavior involve perception, learning process, problem solving, memory, attention, and emotion from inputs from the vehicle and external to the vehicle.
DriveSafety has created a driving simulation system that provides clinicians –physicians and therapists – with a modern tool to evaluate perceptual, cognitive and motor-control abilities. There is a broad range of healthcare professionals that can benefit from a driving simulator.
A variety of conditions merit the questions: Should the person be allowed to drive? If so, when? If not, why? A driving assessment of these abilities will help guide medical decision-making for further testing, functional outcomes, interventions or advice for other complex tasks and occupations (besides driving) that rely on sort term memory, divided attention, visual processing speed, spatial orientation and situational awareness. Driving simulation is a system level, functional test which combines component functions into an integrated, dynamic performance test to see how well patients perform and react “under the pressure of time.”
Clinics and medical facilities are not required to have an existing driving evaluation program to leverage this system and technology. The administrators or therapists do not have to be Certified Driving Rehabilitation Specialists. Therapists who deal with stroke, dementia and traumatic brain injury, for example, will find that impairments of memory, attention and perception will be quickly identified by impairments in driving skills and abilities associated with these brain functions. If driving is one of the patient’s stated goals, then information gained by using the simulator can be used for deciding the need for further testing such as a behind the wheel road test or for practice and more formal treatment regimens during neuro-rehabilitation.
The DriveSafety Sim-MetRx™ driving simulator provided medical professionals a tool for driver rehabilitation and driver assessment. The Sim-MetRx does indeed go Beyond Driving Fitness™. Add Content...