PHOBIA THERAPY IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Project Title

PHOBIA THERAPY IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Project Area of Specialization Computer ScienceProject Summary

Virtual Reality (VR), allows users to experience a sense of presence in a computer-generated three-dimensional environment. Sensory information is delivered through a head-mounted display and specialized interface devices. These devices track head moments so that the moments and images change in a natural way with head motion, allowing for a sense of immersion. VR allows for controlled delivery of sensory stimulation via the therapist and is a convenient and cost-effective treatment.

Also known as cyber-therapy, the emerging field of computer-supported rehabilitation regroups a large variety of techniques exploring the new possibilities offered by the Internet, multimedia systems and virtual reality to provide better or more flexible therapies. Its application domain in health care covers medicine, psychology, and neuroscience. Concerning mental health, the possibilities offered by simulations have been investigated about ten years ago to determine if the immersion into virtual environments could support the Cognitive And Behavioral Therapy (CBT) of anxiety disorders. The principle of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) is to replace the usual in-vivo exposure to the anxiety-provoking situation with a mediated experience. Exposures are behavioral exercises directed by therapists and involving a confrontation of the patient to the fearful stimuli (e.g. a spider for arachnophobia). Following the firsts experiments’ success with people suffering from disorders such as fear of flying, acrophobia or post-traumatic stress disorders, this area of research quickly expanded and involved more and more collaborations between VR and psychiatry.

The primary focus of our project is to treat the various range of psychiatric disorders, with a specific focus on phobia. This project will provide a systematic way of using VR in treating various phobias that are faced by different people in the modern world.

Project Objectives

The main objectives of our Project are:

1. Specific: Creating a more specific and effective way to treat the patients having a mental disorder such as Phobia. 
2. Time Consumed: The completed project will be delivered within the allowed time period
3. Realistic: Our project will be very helpful in the medical field as in our country most of the people are suffering from any of the mentioned kinds of phobia and also are trying to overcome their disorders
4. Achievable: Treatment of different kinds of Phobia such as Belano Phobia(needle), Aquaphobia(water), Acrophobia(height), Acrophobia(flying), Claustrophobia(darkness), Fear of Blood, Fear of public speaking.
5. Measurable: This project will help the doctors in the therapy of the patients as they can put them in the same situations and then allow them to overcome their disorders. Moreover, this will reduce cost for the patients.

Project Implementation Method

Hardware Requirement:

1. Virtual Reality (VR) Glass
2. Mobile Phone
3. Vibration Sensors
4. Air Blowers
5. Wires
6. Microcontroller 

Software/Tools Requirement:

1. Unity 3D
2. Android Studio
3. Adobe Photoshop
4. After Effects

Proposed Implementation Language(s):

1. Java
2. Unity
3. Unity script
4. C#
5. C++

Benefits of the Project

Usability: This usability is important to enhance the performance of the treatments on the one hand, and on the other hand, we may expect benefits from other support functions besides the VR exposure technique itself. Interesting new technologies are available to extend a VR system with new functions in order to measure and analyze details of the treatment process for a better understanding of diagnosis and treatment and for improving the efficiency of the therapist's work.     

Reliability: Our system is very easy to use by admin and patient as well. It is very self-explaining. Admin will just have to figure out the phobia of a patient and choose the best scenario for him. We are using graded exposure therapy. This technique helps patients to recover from their long-lasting fears. Patients will face different levels of difficulty so they can improve after every session. This kind of therapy will increase the chances of improvement. It will be very accurate as this technique is also used by psychologists.

Integrity: Our project is firmly believed to be interactive and helpful for patients of phobia. We are introducing VR in graded exposure therapy. This will enable patients to directly feel the environment. Levels of difficulty will be increased from time to time. Patients will directly not have to face hyper situations. This technique will help them overcome their fears.

Technical Details of Final Deliverable

Virtual Reality based our project will create an environment for the patients who suffer through a different kind of phobia. VR will create the same situations for the person and then they will try to overcome the situation which will help them to overcome their phobia.

Our Project will include main components such as android application, VR based unity software for phobia therapy. The head-mounted display will allow the user to sense the same situation as in phobia and then through graded exposure, the therapy is performed.

Our main target is to treat phobia using Graded Exposure. An android application will be used to control the Virtual Reality(VR). The records will be stored in the database which is controlled and operated using the application. The patient will sense the scenes through the VR. In this type of treatment, the person under treatment will face different levels of difficulties. The level of difficulty will increase every next therapy session so that the person under observation can easily recover and overcome his disorder. Our project will mainly target the medical field.

Final Deliverable of the Project HW/SW integrated systemCore Industry ITOther Industries Medical Core Technology Augmented & Virtual RealityOther Technologies Artificial Intelligence(AI)Sustainable Development Goals Good Health and Well-Being for PeopleRequired Resources

Item Name	Type	No. of Units	Per Unit Cost (in Rs)	Total (in Rs)
			Total in (Rs)	70280
Gear VR with Controller	Equipment	2	21000	42000
Micro-controller	Equipment	2	8990	17980
Jazz 4G Device	Equipment	1	5200	5200
Vibration Motor	Equipment	1	2100	2100
Air Blower	Equipment	1	2500	2500
Wires	Miscellaneous	20	25	500