Virtual Reality for Alzheimer's Patients

At a conference where I was speaking not long ago, there was a vendor showing off a virtual reality device for dementia.  I had seen such a device used to give people a sense for what it was like to have dementia and thought this was the same.  I knew nothing else about virtual reality in the context of dementia.

But during the Q&A for my talk, someone asked me what I thought about the use of virtual reality to help people with dementia, and I was caught off guard.  I hadn't thought about a person with dementia using virtual reality.  I don't remember what I said, but I'm sure the person with the question went away dissatisfied.

Recently, Paul, a friend of mine, sent me an article on various technological approaches to helping with dementia.  Some of the approaches included items like GPS ankle bracelets to help find people who have wandered, but others were intended to enhance the lives of people suffering from dementia.  This included robots, but also a virtual reality device, likely the one I saw at the conference.

The virtual reality device is manufactured by a company called MyndVR that leases the devices to assisted living facilities.  The company claims that the device provides people suffering from dementia with experiences that reduce anxiety and depression, stimulate memory and cognition, and increase socialization.  The article describes the experience of a man in the late stage of dementia watching a sunrise in Costa Rica, a place where he and his family had memorable vacations.  This and other devices play music from when the users were younger to stimulate memory.  (For what it's worth, I've tried playing familiar music to someone with serious dementia, and it wasn't able to stimulate the person.)

So how would I answer the conference question now?  Can a virtual reality device actual improve the quality of life for someone suffering from dementia?  I doubt I'd have a better answer now, since I can't find any information to back up the company's claims.  But it is an intriguing idea.