Cyber Therapy.(News Briefs)

VIRTUAL REALITY SHOWS REAL PROMISE IN TREATING PSYCHOLOGICAL DISORDERS

From the moment the Vietnam War vet dons the head-mounted display and enters the Virtual Vietnam landing zone, it's clear why this 3D immersive simulation has such strong potential for treating people suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The visual rendering of the virtual battlefield and surrounding jungle looks like a cartoon, but the sounds of radio chatter, shouts, rifle shots, and helicopter wings are all too real. Add to that the vibration felt in the standing platform after each mortar explosion, and it's no wonder some veterans move quickly for protective cover.

"People are taken a bit by surprise," says Ken Graap, chief executive officer of Virtually Better, the Atlanta-based company that developed Virtual Vietnam. "They think it's cartoonish, but then they get in there and have a reaction. With the sound effects, it's quite convincing."

Virtual Vietnam is one example in a widening range of virtual environments developed over the past five years for assessing and treating phobias, other psychological disorders, excessive pain, and brain injuries that impair cognitive functioning. Most of this work is still the province of research laboratories, but fledgling companies such as Virtually Better are starting to market VR systems.

Six years ago, a $250,000 Silicon Graphics workstation was required to run a virtual reality module for treating fear of heights. Today, Virtually Better uses a Pentium computer with stereo sound, a standing platform, and a VFX 3D head-mounted display with a built-in tracker that together cost less than $5000, while charging customers a fee of $400 per month for two years to license the company's proprietary software for treating post-combat stress disorder, fear of flying, and fear of heights. The price tag for VR is fast becoming affordable for many clinicians. The question now is how many of them will embrace technology in their day-to-day work.

Computing Meets Psychology