Hiatus

This blog is on temporary hiatus for a bit as I prepare for the MCAT. However, the world of virtual reality and therapy continues to hurtle forward with exciting new applications, and I would like to direct you to a few reports:

• At the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, post-stroke patients manipulated a robot in virtual environments as part of rehabilitative physical therapy. The virtual reality group walked farther and faster than a group that only used the robot. Read more here.

• GestureTek, a company whose innovations have been utilized for previous virtual reality therapeutic applications, was on display this past weekend at the Consumer Electronics Show. Read more about their new 3-D depth tracking system here.

Virtual Reality Treadmills

One of the major rehabilitation challenges for older stroke victims is re-learning how to walk. A new system, designed by a former chiropractor and current University of Portsmouth Ph.D. student Wendy Powell, aims to change that with an innovative virtual reality system, used in conjunction with a treadmill.

As patients walk on a standard treadmill, moving images projected onto a screen in front of them attempt to trick their brains into thinking that they are walking at a slower rate than they are actually walking. This reduces fear of falling and gradually encourages them to walk faster, increasing endurance and speed. The system is expected to enhance speed, endurance, and strength among stroke victims. Clinical trials are being conducted with a research team from Canada's McGill University.

• University of Portsmouth Front Page News
  

Virtual Reality News April 2008

• Hunter Hoffman and David Patterson's SnowWorld, which I've written about before, is currently being used at Loyola University Hospital in Maywood, IL for burn victims. More than just a distracting media presentation, SnowWorld is an immersive VR video game that relies on the user to complete problem-solving tasks in the game, reducing their pain levels as evidenced by self-reports and MRI scans

• In stroke rehabilitation, researchers in Israel are using VR to enhance both diagnosis and therapeutic treatment selection for patients. Currently, the team of computer scientists and health professionals have designed a system that can differentiate between types of injuries - traumatic brain injuries vs. cerebrovascular accidents. Next, they will program the computers to generate models of patient recovery in order to select the best treatment for each specific patient. While diagnosis is an area that doctors can already do without the help of technology, projecting treatment outcomes with consistent accuracy is not something doctors can currently do with high consistency and accuracy. The VR is also used in patient therapy to demonstrate healthy movements of limbs without physical movement. The patient sees their limbs on a screen performing movements without pain, which can activate mirror neurons, which are frontal lobe neurons that fire when performing a task or seeing it performed. By seeing a natural movement, not experiencing pain, and having the typical motion pathway activated in your brain, pain is reduced and the patient's motility increased.

• London researchers recently used a VR headset to study paranoia in the general population, as subjects were transported via a virtual London Underground on a 4-minute ride. About 1 in 3 participants experienced paranoid thoughts about one or more of the neutral passengers populating the subway. People who experienced day-to-day thoughts of paranoia were more likely to experience it in the virtual underground. The next steps are to design a protocol that allows diagnosis and therapeutic sessions utilizing the technology. Read more here.
  

Citation:

Freeman D, Pugh K, Antley A, Slater M, Bebbington P, Gittins M, Dunn G, Kuipers E, Fowler D and Garety P (2008) Virtual reality study of paranoid thinking in the general population.
British Journal of Psychiatry, 192, 258-263.