The prevalence of dementia is increasing due to a longer life expectancy and an ageing population. Cognitive impairment affects patients’ daily lives and places a financial and healthcare burden on them and their families. Reminiscence therapy (RT) is a non-pharmacological approach that has been found to enhance the quality of life for older adults with or without dementia. There is an urgent need for more functional and effective treatments, such as virtual reality (VR), which are becoming increasingly popular. VR in RT is a relatively new field, and this paper proposes a conceptual model for developing proof-of-concept virtual reality-based reminiscence therapy (VR-RT) for people with dementia, based on the 4Is: immersion, interaction, imagination, and impression. This model is intended to offer an alternative therapeutic experience for older adults with dementia. This paper demonstrates VR-RT in accordance with the results from the proposed 4Is model, to depict different periods of the olden days of scenes, such as restoring the historical objects and appearance of the citizens. The proposed VR-RT is then evaluated with the occupational therapists (OTs) through pilot testing. The findings reveal that VR-RT based on the proposed model may elicit a positive attitude and motivation in older adults with dementia. The proposed 4Is model serves to offer essential features for VR development, followed by a survey to identify suitable reminiscence materials and themes tailored to older adults with dementia. A pilot test with OTs revealed that VR-RT has the potential to improve the conditions of people with dementia. The research contributes valuable insights and lays the groundwork for future development of VR-RT for people with dementia.

由于预期寿命延长和人口老龄化，痴呆症的患病率正在增加。认知障碍影响患者的日常生活，并给他们及其家人带来经济和医疗负担。怀旧疗法 (RT) 是一种非药物方法，已被发现可以提高患有或不患有痴呆症的老年人的生活质量。迫切需要功能更强大、更有效的治疗方法，例如越来越受欢迎的虚拟现实（VR）。 RT 中的 VR 是一个相对较新的领域，本文提出了一种概念模型，用于为痴呆症患者开发基于概念验证的虚拟现实回忆疗法 (VR-RT)，该模型基于 4I：沉浸式、交互性、想象力、和印象。该模型旨在为患有痴呆症的老年人提供另一种治疗体验。本文根据所提出的4Is模型的结果演示了VR-RT，以描绘旧时代不同时期的场景，例如还原历史物体和公民的面貌。然后，职业治疗师 (OT) 通过试点测试对拟议的 VR-RT 进行评估。研究结果表明，基于所提出模型的 VR-RT 可能会激发患有痴呆症的老年人的积极态度和动机。拟议的 4Is 模型旨在为 VR 开发提供必要的功能，然后进行一项调查，以确定适合患有痴呆症的老年人的回忆材料和主题。 OT 的试点测试表明，VR-RT 有潜力改善痴呆症患者的状况。该研究提供了宝贵的见解，并为痴呆症患者 VR-RT 的未来发展奠定了基础。