Clinical Results Using Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) technology offers new opportunities for the development of innovative clinical research, assessment, and intervention tools. VR-based testing, training, teaching, and treatment approaches that would be difficult, if not impossible to deliver using traditional methods are now bei...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of technology in human services 2019-01, Vol.37 (1), p.51-74
Main Authors: Rizzo, Albert, Thomas Koenig, Sebastian, Talbot, Thomas B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anxiety
Anxiety disorders
Application
Behavior
Behavioral responses
Clinical assessment
Clinical research
Clinical skills
Clinical training
Clinical virtual reality
Cognition
Cognitive aspects
Computer simulation
Eating disorders
Efficacy
Evaluation
Exposure therapy
Illnesses
Intervention
Mental disorders
Occupational stress
Pain
Post traumatic stress disorder
psychiatry
Psychological stress
psychology
PTSD
Rehabilitation
Social education
Social skills
Teaching
Technological change
Technology
Training
Trauma
Treatment methods
Virtual reality
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Summary:Virtual Reality (VR) technology offers new opportunities for the development of innovative clinical research, assessment, and intervention tools. VR-based testing, training, teaching, and treatment approaches that would be difficult, if not impossible to deliver using traditional methods are now being developed that take advantage of the assets that are available with VR technology. As research evidence continues to indicate clinical efficacy, VR applications are being increasingly regarded as providing innovative options for targeting the cognitive, psychological, motor, and functional impairments that result from various clinical health conditions. VR allows for the precise presentation and control of stimuli within dynamic multisensory 3-D computer generated simulations as well as providing advanced methods for capturing and quantifying behavioral responses. These characteristics support the rationale for the use of VR applications in clinical assessment, intervention, and training. This article begins with a brief review of the history and rationale for the use of VR with clinical populations. We then detail one use-case for the clinical application of VR-the exposure therapy treatment of anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder. While significant work is cited in other areas of Clinical VR (e.g., pain management, cognitive/physical assessment/rehabilitation, eating disorders, social skills/clinical training, etc.), a full overview of such a broad literature is beyond the scope of this article. Thus, we have opted to provide more in-depth analysis of one specific clinical area that clearly illustrates how VR has been successfully applied and is supported by an encouraging and evolving scientific literature.
ISSN:1522-8835
1522-8991
DOI:10.1080/15228835.2019.1604292