The Project on Virtual Reality Intelligent Multi-sensor System for the Treatment of Anxiety-related Disorders (INTREPID) is aimed at developing a multi-sensor context-aware virtual reality system for the treatment of anxiety-related disorders.
The clinical protocol for the treatment of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) is programmed simultaneously inside and outside the therapist’s office. Relaxation program is a combination of “Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training” (PMRT), the classic procedure described by Jacobsen, that involves tensing and relaxing various muscle groups while taking note of the contrasting sensations, and “Guided Imagery” program. In our training imagery is replaced by the visual cue of a relaxing virtual environment.
INSIDE THE THERAPIST’S OFFICE. Patients participate to 8 training sessions with the therapist, distributed in four weeks (2 sessions per week). Each session starts and stops with a clinical evaluation that gives the measure of the patient’s anxiety.
Plan of sessions in the therapist’s office:
OUTSIDE THERAPIST’S OFFICE: In order to improve the efficacy of the training and to increase the effects of relaxation, patients will practice relaxation techniques outside therapist’s office by experiencing a Homecare Scenario. This is realized by presenting the same virtual environment experienced during the therapy on a mobile device. The mobile device is connected via Bluetooth to a set of biosensors that includes heart rates and skin conductance. This equipment is small enough and easy-to-use to be autonomously handled by the patient (see fig. 1). The patient is required to train relaxation abilities at least once a day for the entire duration of the treatment (one month), following the treatment plan provided by the therapist.
Representative Results
Because both biofeedback and virtual reality are known to be effective to induce relaxation, the main expected result is that a combination of these two methods is more effective in reducing anxiety in patients affected by generalized anxiety disorder, than the two techniques individually used.
Figure 1: GSR/HR biosensors module.
Our hypothesis is that the combination of virtual reality and biofeedback that directly modifies the virtual environment, compared with virtual reality alone, will result in a better and faster relaxation learning. If so, this new instrument created to treat anxiety disorders could be applied and tested even in other anxiety-related pathologies.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
The present work was supported by the European Union IST Programme (Project “INTREPID – A Virtual Reality Intelligent Multi-sensor Wearable System for Phobias’ Treatment” – IST-2002-507464).