Improving Quality of Life for MS Patients

Add this to the growing list of virtual reality applications. Patients with multiple sclerosis improved gait and stride both during and after using virtual reality equipment.

Content Suggestions

Hey all! Thanks for visiting my blog :-) If you have any content suggestions, please let me know in the Comments section.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

One application for VR is therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder. Virtual Reality Iraq is based upon the idea that by controlling virtual environments, we can control and decrease the flashbacks and hyper-aroused status that PTSD victims suffer from.

Sensory Learning Program

On WIRED today, Mark Woodman reports on the status of his son, Caleb, who suffers from sensory processing disorder, after completing the Sensory Learning Program. Caleb's scores on visual integration, motor coordination, and audio & visual perception post-treatment are astonishing. The neurological program has also enhanced his social perceptions and reasoning (Caleb also has Asperger's Syndrome, a mild form of autism).

Virtual Police Lineup

A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle describes a Stanford lab working on a virtual reality replacement of the standard police lineup. By using multidimensional VR images and video, suspect profiles can be manipulated so that witnesses can see them in the context of the crime, how suspects would look in different clothing or with different hairstyles, or from any angle or distance.

Other research topics explored by the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab: diversity simulation, social networking, weight perception, learning in immersive environments, emotion abstraction, and avatar identity.

Virtual Reality and Communication Disorders

Dr. Stacy Williams, one of my undergraduate research mentors, is a professor at Case Western Reserve University and has several exciting new projects underway. One of the most notable is her use of virtual reality in speech-language therapy for dysfluency, or stuttering, disorders. She leads the Virtual Immersion Center for Simulation Research, also known as VICSR, at Case.

One aspect of therapy that speech-language pathologists use to treat stuttering is role play. The therapist may use props or costumes to act out a scenario, then ask the patient to play along and imagine he or she is actually participating in the situation. Dr. Williams explains that one area where traditional role-play falls short is all of the nuances and background distractions present in everyday interactions. For example, one common scenario is ordering food at a restaurant. Though the therapist and patient may act out the script in a role-play, this cannot reproduce all of the people talking in the background, equipment noise, babies crying, etc. Therefore, with VirTra Systems, she has created a virtual CAVE environment for her patients, the first virtual reality theater for speech therapy in the world.

In the CAVE, the speech therapist controls several factors, allowing the therapist to manipulate the environment and make scenarios more or less challenging for the patient (i.e., increasing the intensity of distractions). The therapist also controls characters in the virtual reality setting, selecting from a pre-recorded library of quotes.

Though this research is new and Dr. Williams has not published her findings yet, VICSR is definitely a promising lab to watch as virtual reality and technology make their way to the forefront of modern therapy.

1. VICSR in TIME Magazine
2. VirTra Systems Press Release
3. Case Western Reserve University Press Release

Virtual Reality Therapy for Burn Victims

The HITLab (Human Interface Technology Lab) at the University of Washington has developed a virtual world free of potential pain triggers for burn victims. Hunter Hoffman's SnowWorld features an interactive virtual environment that offers distraction for patients as they undergo wound dressings and skin stretching.


The results of patients undergoing wound care are striking. Reported pain while experiencing SnowWorld is dramatically lower than that of patients not using VR. Moreover, in an fMRI study, healthy people volunteered to experience pain stimuli when in an fMRI machine. Some of them also experienced (magnet-friendly) virtual reality during the fMRI. The VR subjects had less pain-related brain activity than the non-VR subjects.

The lab is also working on water-friendly virtual reality gear (as you can see from the photo, they use a head-mounted display), using VR to treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (a full post on that later), and VR for Spider Phobia, among various other projects.

Blog Goals

I've just joined the psychology blogging community, and I wanted to have a place to post my own thoughts on what is hot in psychology research, cutting-edge therapy, and other relevant topics. My primary interest is the intersection of psychology and technology, but this blog will cover a variety of topics. I'd love your feedback, so please shoot me an e-mail if you're so inclined.

I got hooked on psych tech applications as an undergraduate researcher for Dr. Stacy Williams of the VICSR, the Virtual Immersion Center for Simulation Research, at Case Western Reserve University, where I graduated with a B.A. in Psychology (minors in Biology and Chemistry).

Since then, I've been extremely interested in the uses of new technology for clinical interventions. I don't have an advanced or professional degree, and I won't attempt to give out any advice. This blog is all about publicizing new ideas and discussing them openly and critically.