Is Metaverse Technology Improving Mental Health Treatment?

It’s been a wild past two years for us all. After experiencing the tumults of the pandemic, unforeseen market instability and a seemingly endless chain of global and civil unrest, the prevalence of anxiety, depression and other mental health conditions has reached a staggering high. Even the World Health Organisation (WHO) has weighed in on the dangers of our mounting mental health crisis, with one scientific brief reporting a 25% increase in mental health issues since COVID-19 first hit the world.

The social isolation resulting from the pandemic was one of the biggest challenges our modern society has faced in the last century — causing unprecedented constraints on people’s relationships, work lives, communities and overall mental wellbeing. As a result, many people turned to virtual resources for work, regular communication and even medical care. It’s also for this very reason that 92% of businesses reportedly believe the pandemic has accelerated the development of metaverse technologies.

As we exit the final stages of the pandemic and look towards our first normal summer of the decade, it seems fitting that this year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week would be loneliness. In honour of this year’s event, let’s take a look at how developing technologies are looking to improve mental health treatment, decrease the effects of loneliness and provide greater access to care — especially as we see metaverse technologies increase in popularisation.

Using XR technology to combat loneliness

When we couldn’t physically meet with our colleagues, friends or family members during the pandemic, video conferencing helped us stay connected — even if it didn’t exactly replace the sensation of real-life interactions. In keeping with this year’s theme for Mental Health Awareness Week, more immersive technologies have already been suggested by experts as an even better remedy for those experiencing social isolation and loneliness. The spatial nature of VR means that interactions inside more immersive games and metaverse platforms feel much more like being around people in the real world. 

During the pandemic, VR even found an unexpected new group of users — seniors. MyndVR has already worked with hundreds of senior living communities across the United States, seeing a significant surge in popularity within the last two years. Chris Brickler, co-founder of MyndVR, has remarked on the company’s reimagining from a youth-based gaming culture to a “very safe, secure and senior-friendly platform”. Moreover, he commented on the platform’s success during COVID: “We’re just super excited about providing this service to so many older people that are, you know, sometimes lonely, combating isolation.”

A recent study from Frontiers in Psychology has also concluded that XR technology and more immersive gaming experiences have positively affected users — particularly by “modelling the relationships between involvement, wellbeing, depression, self-esteem and social connectedness”. The study determined that, while there is a risk that VR can supplant in-person involvement, healthy social interactions within a VR environment still “benefit players by satisfying essential needs of belonging and connecting with others.”

Anna Bailie, a PhD candidate at the University of York, specialises in researching mental health cultures on social media — and she believes the future of how the metaverse will impact our mental health will improve, rather than harm our ability to connect with others. According to Bailie: “The metaverse has been sold as a place for community, sociality, making friends and maintaining relationships.” Furthermore, she believes that: “there’s no reason that can’t happen when we already see it on social media platforms like Instagram and Reddit, where people find communities which they wouldn’t have access to otherwise.”

Improvements through immersive care

As we’ve previously covered, a recent peer-reviewed study from Oxford University concluded that patients who tried VR-based therapy saw a 38% reduction in anxiety or avoidant symptoms over the course of a six-week treatment period. According to another study, patients suffering from paranoia saw a decrease in their phobias — even after undergoing just one VR session. The immersive nature of VR is now understood as a way for us to trick our brain into thinking it is reacting to a more realistic encounter — an advent that can see patients develop healthier and more effective coping strategies.

Dr. Daria Kuss, lead of the Cyberpsychology Research Group at Nottingham Trent University, has touted VR technology as an effective therapy tool: “We know that particular psychology formats, notably virtual reality exposure therapy, can be fantastic tools to help individuals affected by a variety of phobias, depression, psychosis, addiction, eating disorders — as well as post-traumatic stress disorder — by gradually exposing them to the triggering, feared, or trauma-producing stimulus in a safe space (like the virtual environment).”

University College London (UCL) has been behind a series of clinical trials using VR to treat mental health conditions. The university has partnered with Tend VR to bring mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) — a type of face-to-face therapy that has been proven highly effective — into a virtual setting. According to Rebecca Gould, Honorary Clinical Psychologist in the Division of Psychiatry at UCL, “virtual reality-based mindfulness represents an innovative and novel approach to addressing this challenge.”

UCL also revealed a specialised VR intervention program that would substitute face-to-face therapy for depression, with the objective of helping patients increase their ability to exhibit self-compassion. Using a virtual room, patients are shown two virtual avatars — both a child and an adult. In the first segment, they enter the room as the adult — with the task of comforting the child until their stress is decreased. In the next segment, they get to play as the child — this time being comforted by the script of the adult. The compassionate script inside the module zeroes in on three key themes: validating experience, redirecting attention and activating a positive memory.

A growing body of scientific research now also supports the idea that certain psychedelics, when administered by a therapist, can support a range of mental health conditions — including depression, PTSD, addiction and various types of anxiety. Now, health experts are even looking to replicate the benefits of psychedelic-assisted therapy in the metaverse. Emotional Intelligence (EI) Ventures, a growing startup, is harnessing the power of VR to overcome geographical and economic barriers that have previously hindered people from accessing psychedelic therapies. 

After receiving a dose of a medically-prescribed psychedelic, EI users will embark on a virtual journey using their VR headsets. According to founder David Nikzad, each user’s vision will be specifically tailored to suit their unique background, personality and medical history — with the goal of delivering a “zone of comfortability”. He continues: Not everybody’s going to have the same comfort zone. I might like beaches and waterfalls, somebody else might want to be in the Swiss Alps. We can fine-tune that experience.”

Even current gaming tycoon Roblox, which has been praised for bringing users together through shared experiences, has recently launched greater initiatives to raise awareness around the importance of mental health and personal wellness. Sponsored by Alo Yoga, Roblox recently unveiled the ‘Alo Sanctuary’ in February — a metaverse island with a picturesque landscape, encompassing “three earthly elements of the brand name Alo — an acronym for ‘Air Land Ocean’.” Danny Harris, co-founder of Alo, has called “this first-of-a-kind partnership” a “longstanding commitment to supporting the mental and overall health of the global community at large.”

Providing greater access to mental health care

Many metaverse-related complaints we’ve heard within the past year have circulated around the idea that a more immersive internet will be more addictive than the one we live in now, thereby preventing us from embarking on healthy, socially-engaging lifestyles. However, the practicalities and flexibilities of VR are already proving that the metaverse will also make mental health treatment more accessible and even more plausible for people to access — giving it a very positive use case.

XR technology now makes mental health care accessible to anyone across the globe, regardless of their location or social standing. Users who have historically encountered physical barriers to mental health care can now see more affordable treatment options, all while receiving it through more immersive, lifelike and interactive channels.

Daniel Freeman, a clinical psychologist at the University of Oxford, has highlighted one problem he sees in the field of clinical psychology — that many patients are unable to attend therapy sessions due to lack of accessibility (including lack of transportation, rigid work schedules or fear of stigmatisation). As an alternative, his team has revealed gameChange — a programme entailing a six-week course, where participants can meet with a virtual coach from anywhere in the world to conquer phobias and other forms of paranoia.

Joy Ventures, a growing VC firm that is seeking the support of science-backed consumer products for wellbeing, has also pointed out the potential for VR treatment to be more personalised and adjusted to meet the personal needs of patients. Additionally, they’ve also stressed the scalability and flexibility of these technologies: “Even before the pandemic, social isolation, stress and anxiety were worsening problems — but with greater use of behavioural health technologies, people will have better and more accessible options for receiving the care they need.”

Final thoughts

While mounting research makes several clear arguments for why the metaverse will be a great therapy tool, it’s still important to note the number of potential health risks that are present. Several experts in the fields of both technology and mental health have already expressed concerns about how the immersive and potentially addictive nature of the metaverse can lead to a decline in mental health.

However, other experts argue that this issue is much more nuanced — asserting that factors like genetics, physical activity, diet or socioeconomic standing play a much bigger role in identifying mental health conditions. Nick Allen, a professor of psychology at the University of Oregon, stresses the importance of context when referring to metaverse use: “[For example], a young person who may be LGBT and who finds an online context where they can feel a sense of social support — we would predict that that would be a benefit for their mental health,” he says. “On the other hand, if using metaverse technologies replaces non-online behaviours that are healthy and supportive to mental health, like appropriate exercise, engagement in relationships in real life, healthy sleep, time spent in natural environments, then they can be harmful.”

It’s critical that both the pros and cons of emerging metaverse technologies be highlighted. Clinical psychologist Barbara Rothbaum, whose efforts in the VR space date back as far as 1995, can vouch for the timeline in which we’ve seen immersive technologies develop and transition from academia to society. We are now at a stage where we can see the efficacy of VR technology from a clinical point of view, but she still insists that there are “some barriers” to overcome.

Overall, studies seem to be trending in the right direction. XR technology appears to have reached us at a pertinent time — when mental health and the effects of isolation have never been a greater concern. As such, we should expect to see the benefits of more innovative, flexible and accessible mental health care become more commonplace over time.

A $240 Quest App Tests the Boundaries of Oculus App Lab

Separate from the main Quest store, Oculus App Lab gives developers an official ‘unlisted’ and uncurated means of distributing Oculus Quest apps. So far the company has proven that it will remain largely hands-off on app content—and apparently price too—making App Lab useful for much more than just gaming apps.

While the main Quest store—the one users can see inside the headset—is gate kept wholly by Oculus, the company introduced App Lab as an alternate means of distributing apps on the headset, and one that isn’t subject to curation based on app quality. The caveat is that apps are ‘unlisted’ which means you can only find them if you have a direct link.

So far Oculus has stayed true to that promise, having no qualms about hosting a Quest app that’s literally just a cube. But what about price?

At least for now the company seems happy to accomodate. A medical training app called Fetal Heart VR is now the most expensive VR app available on App Lab at $240.

Launched back in June, the app is made by MWU Software and allows users to “fully simulate the maneuvers of an ultrasound probe and perform a virtual scan of a normal fetal heart and also hearts affected by Congenital Heart Diseases.”

While $240 might sound unheard of for a VR game, it might just be a bargain in the medical world. MWU Software says its goal with the app is to “change ultrasound training from expensive and stationary simulators available at medical universities, to a personal platform, portable and affordable to every sonographer and physician involved in prenatal sonography.”

The company even sells accessories to enhance the immersion, like an inflatable stomach and an attachment for the Quest controller that mimics the shape of an ultrasound tool.

A worthy mission and a very interesting use of VR, indeed. Not to mention a clear demonstration of why App Lab is important. An app like this would never make it onto the main Quest store because it doesn’t fit with the gamer audience that Oculus is targeting. And yet, thanks to App Lab, this app can still get out there easily into the hands of those that need it.

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Oxford VR Picks up $12.5M in Funding for Its VR-based Therapy Platform

Virtual reality therapy startup Oxford VR today announced its secured $12.5 million in Series A financing to further its research and development into VR-based therapy programs.

The latest funding round was led by Optum Ventures and supported by Luminous Ventures. Existing investors include Oxford Sciences Innovation, Oxford University Innovation, and GT Healthcare Capital Partners.

The company says in a press release that the fresh capital will allow it to accelerate expansion into the U.S. and continue R&D into treating conditions such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Founded in 2017 by Oxford Professor Daniel Freeman and biomedical engineer Barnaby Perks, Oxford VR is building what it calls “automated VR therapy,” which provides psychological treatments to patients as an adjunct to traditional therapy.

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The company says its platform is intended to “transform behavioral health care by helping overloaded providers expand access and standardize clinical excellence, ensuring adherence to treatment protocols.”

For Oxford VR’s first clinical trial, the company tested a program that exposed patients with a fear of heights to a virtual suspended walkway. The results were published in The Lancet Psychiatry; the company says the results achieved were “significantly better than expected, with the best psychological intervention delivered face-to-face by a therapist.”

The company is already delivering its automated VR therapy in real-world settings via the UK’s National Health Service (NHS). Additionally, Oxford VR is participating in trials including the NHS-funded gameChange project, a large-scale trial to use VR therapy to treat patients with behavioral health conditions.

Oxford VR has also partnered with AXA Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) in a pilot program to test VR’s potential to support better mental health outcomes.

In the US, the company has also established a partnership with the Colorado-based National Mental Health Innovation Center (NMHIC) where it is running multiple pilots using VR therapy treatments.

Along with the investment, Ash Patel, Principal at Optum Ventures is joining the Oxford VR Board of Directors.

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Oxford VR Therapy Platform Lands £10 Million In Investment

UK-based Oxford VR hopes to lead the way in automated VR therapy in the future, and it just raised £10 million to help achieve that goal.

The company, which span out of Oxford University’s Department of Psychiatry in 2017, raised the money in a Series A round of funding led by Optum Ventures. According to a press release, the new funds will “enable Oxford VR to accelerate US expansion of its evidence-based and scalable automated VR therapy solution and to continue to expand its treatment pipeline.”

Oxford VR is looking to turn many of the proposed health benefits of VR into a reality in the coming years. The company started out with a clinical trial, testing VR’s ability to treat a fear of heights. Since those that trial, it’s expanded its offering to tackle areas like OCD and social anxiety too.

The platform offers automated treatment aligned with clinical standards and protocol, creating simulated events that can trigger these issues and help sufferers confront them in a safe, controlled environment. You can see an example of the company’s work tackling a fear of heights in a patient below.

Currently the company is partnering with AXA Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) to bring its work to Asia, while a partnership with the National Mental Health Innovation Centre (NMHIC) is doing the same for the US.

VR’s ability to simulate reality presents plenty of possible healthcare benefits for the future. Beyond Oxford VR’s offerings, we’ve also seen surgical training platforms like FundamentalVR embrace the technology.

The post Oxford VR Therapy Platform Lands £10 Million In Investment appeared first on UploadVR.

UCLA Surgical Training Study Shows VR Beats Traditional Training by 130%

A randomized study conducted at UCLA to test the difference between VR and traditional surgical training found that medical students trained in VR scored significantly better than traditional methods.

Conducted at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California Los Angeles, a study titled Randomized, Controlled Trial of a Virtual Reality Tool to Teach Surgical Technique for Tibial Shaft Fracture Intramedullary Nailing examines the efficacy of VR surgical training for a specific procedure and set of equipment.

20 participants were randomly assigned into two groups of 10; one group would train with the Osso VR software using a VR headset and motion controllers, while the other group would follow traditional training with surgical technique guides.

Image courtesy Osso VR

After their training, participants conducted the procedure on an artificial training bone and their performance was filmed. A surgeon evaluator then ranked the performance of each participant across five categories of proficiency: Time and Motion, Instrument Handling, Knowledge of Instruments, Flow of Operation and Forward Planning, and Knowledge of Specific Procedure. The ‘blind’ evaluator didn’t know the training method of any of the participants.

Image courtesy Osso VR

The study found that the VR group performed significantly better in the surgical procedure across all categories, scoring 130% higher than those who trained with traditional methods. In addition to the proficiency measure, a procedure-specific checklist found that those in the VR group completed 38% more steps correctly and completed the procedure 20% faster.

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Though it’s a small-scale study limited to a single surgical procedure, the findings are quite compelling for Osso VR which has staked its business on the idea that VR training can make better surgeons.

“As an orthopaedic surgeon, it’s critical to me that our technology is evidence-based. As we roll out a completely new way to train, we want our users and customers to continue to see this platform as effective and reliable,” said Justin Barad, MD, CEO & co-founder of Osso VR. “These study results are just the beginning as we tackle one of the biggest challenges facing the healthcare industry today. Our goal is to unlock the value our providers and industry are working to bring to patients around the world.”

The study concludes that VR surgical training may play an important role for orthopaedic surgery education in the future, though long-term longitudinal studies across more procedures will be needed to truly vet the extent of its impact. The study was presented last week at the 2019 Western Orthopedic Association’s Annual Meeting but hasn’t been published in full yet.

Update (August 8th, 2019): We asked Osso VR about any conflicts of interest in the study. A spokesperson for the company said that Osso VR contributed to the design of the study but wasn’t involved in data collection of analysis of the results. Further, UCLA Orthopedics program direction Nelson F. SooHoo is listed among the study’s 12 authors;  he is part of the Osso VR scientific advisory board and holds stock options in the company.

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Virtual Reality Surgical System Comes to Children’s National Hospital

In healthcare, immersive technology has a number of benefits. Many of these have been demonstrated in a number of ways, whether that is through distracting from pain, or helping to train new doctors. One of the most promising is how virtual reality (VR) can assist in surgery. This technology is being introduced to the Children’s National Health System in Washington D.C.

Children’s National is a paediatric health system based in Washington D.C. which has helped treat children since 1870. The hospital has acquired to new VR technology thanks to a gift from Sidney and Phyllis Bresler, in honour of their children and grandchildren.

The new VR system allows for the integration of patient-specific surgical planning and navigation with professional education and VR-powered patient engagement. The hospital believe that this advanced technology will improve outcomes for children being treated at the hospital.

“Virtual reality modeling is the logical step beyond 3D printing, enabling us to further explore, analyze and find the best approach for each unique surgical procedure,” said Children’s National President and CEO Kurt Newman, M.D. “This generous gift from Sidney & Phyllis Bresler should translate into better outcomes for many of the more than 17,500 patients who receive surgery at our hospital each year, and will benefit generations to come. We are deeply grateful for the Breslers’ commitment to pediatric innovation.”

“Phyllis and I understand and appreciate the important role Children’s National Medical Center plays in serving the needs of all children,” said Sidney Bresler. “It is critical that the doctors and staff responsible for the well-being of these children have access to the latest technology to ensure the highest quality of care. This is our way of thanking the extraordinary staff of Children’s National.”

As VR technology develops and becomes more widespread, it is quite likely that more hospitals will begin using the technology to improve patients outcomes and assist in patient education. For the latest coverage on healthcare in VR, keep checking back with VRFocus.

Canada Market Opens Up for In Virtuo

As research into the benefits of virtual reality (VR) for various applications is conducted, a number of businesses, institutions and even governments are pursuing the potential that VR can offer with pilot schemes and other trails. One of these involves the Government of Canada, which is providing support to a company called In Virtuo, which uses VR to treat anxiety disorders.

Back in 2017, the Government of Canada introduced a plan that would support businesses which are involved in the development of innovative solutions. In Virtuo is a recipient of this support, and will receive a repayable contribution of $40,000 (CAN).

Financial support is being provided to In Virtuo with the aim of giving the company the right resources to develop or sell innovative products. This kind of support is believed to dive innovation, which in turn drives the Canadian economy and generates growth to benefit both business and community.

Cliniques et développement In Virtuo, also known as In Virtuo was founded in 2007 and has concetrated on providing specialised treatment services to people with anxiety disorders, focusing on the use of VR. Since 2016, the company has had the exclusive license to sell two VR software programs to healthcare professionals. This software was developed as a partnership between Canada Research Chair in Clinical Cyberpsychology at the Université du Québec en Outaouais and In Virtuo.

“With the support and valuable advice of CED throughout our marketing efforts, the In Virtuo team has been able to accelerate its international sales process and build future collaborative relationships with European and North American teams.” said Stéphane Bouchard, President, In Virtuo

“As the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development, my goal is to help businesses grow and innovate so that they can create high-quality jobs and wealth for Canadians. This is why we support businesses such as In Virtuo, whose success reflects on the region and the Canadian economy as a whole.” commented The Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister Responsible for CED.

For future coverage on developments within the VR industry, keep checking back with VRFocus.

Cardiologist Use VR To Visualise Heart Defects

There are a number of applications for virtual reality (VR) in the medical field. Many of which are tied to training of medical students, or  involving new ways to map and visualise medical conditions, which can often be complex. This application combines both.

At Lucile Packard Children’s hospital, Stanford paediatric cardiologist David Axelrod is able to use a VR simulation to model heart defects in patients. These VR models can be used as learning tools for trainee surgeons, or to show patients and families the ins and outs of the medical condition.

The VR applications currently has over fifteen heart models, which are used for instruction on heart anatomy and congenital heart defects. These models are used in 22 medical centres all over the world, including the University of Michigan.

“We built the hearts as prototypical congenital heart models based on a number of different patients, but each one is like a classical model of whatever heart defect it is depicting,” Axelrod said.

Axelrod hopes that the use of these VR models will expand into new areas and integrate them into the curriculum at Stanford, where the models are already in limited use. Axelrod also said that there are plans to upgrade the application from a model to a full educational experience.

Recently, the team behind the application have implemented a camera application that lets users take, save and export photos that show a heart both before and after surgery. Axelrod is envisioning more educational features could be added to the app over the next few months.

“If you’re able to train medical trainees more effectively on procedures that involve risk without actually having any real risk to a patient, then you’re going to get better outcomes in all areas in healthcare.” said David Sarno, founder of VR firm Lighthaus Inc. Axelrod partnered with Lighthaus to develop the models.

For future coverage of new and innovative uses for VR technology, keep checking back with VRFocus.

VR Art Helps Make Hospital Stays Easier for Cancer Patients

Research is ongoing in several areas into how virtual reality (VR) can help patients who are suffering from both acute and chronic pain. One such project uses interactive VR artwork to help distract paediatric cancer patients in New York.

The specially designed VR experiences came from an idea by Olivia Davis, Assistant Curator for the Montefiore Medical Center Fine Art Program and Collection who approached artist Tom Christopher to create a VR experience that would let the young patients walk into a painting.

Christopher is known for his expressionist approach to depicting urban life, and Davis thought he would be a good choice to create something that was simultaneously familiar and magical. The works don’t start out in VR, instead Christopher spends some time observing and sketching what he sees in the streets of a the Bronx before transforming the sketches into VR sculptures using Google’s Tilt Brush.

“With the advent of new technologies and the influence on younger generations, we saw that we needed to unite art and technology in hopes of enhancing the healing process,” said Davis. “We quickly realized that the power of this technology was stronger than we anticipated and Tom was able to create a unique, community-oriented work of art that is so much more meaningful than generic VR games on the market.”

“The Virtual Reality Fine Art Program at Montefiore seeks to diminish anxiety, pain and opioid addiction through stimulus-rich and curated artistic environments.” Davis continued, “These experiences will serve as ‘immersive analgesics’ allowing physicians to treat their patients more effectively by improving patient’s health and hospital experiences and reducing reliance on pain medication, especially opioids.” Davis said.

Davis went on to say that the successful collaboration means that there are plans to expanding the work in using fine art and technology to ease pain into new areas to help other patients such as the paediatric sickle cell, Hematology, Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant patients.

For future coverage of VR use in healthcare, keep checking back with VRFocus.

Doctors Use VR To Ease Needle Phobias

Not many people enjoy getting injections, and for children it can be especially traumatic, with the fear making what would probably be only a brief scratch into something much worse. Luckily, there is a potential solution, as doctors are using virtual reality (VR) as a means to ease fears and make trips to get those injections less likely to end in trauma.

It has been noted before that VR can be used to combat bot anxiety and pain, with medical personnel at the Northern General Hospital burns unit in the UK using the tech to help patients be distracted from the pain, and a paediatrician in the USA has taken this idea as something that might potentially help children.

VR needles phobia study 1

Chad Rudnick is an MD and affiliate professor at Florida Atlantic University’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and founder of Boca VIPediatrics. He was inspired to use VR for ‘distraction therapy’ when an 8-year-old patient entered his office with a VR headset. When wearing the VR headset, the child didn’t even flinch when the injection was applied.

“That’s when the lightbulb went off in my head. It got me thinking whether this outcome was just a one-time incident or whether it would work again,” said Rudnick.

While VR has been used in a variety of ways in healthcare, there have been no specific studies looking at VR use for paediatric immunisations, so Rudnick has been testing his theories with the aid of two medical students, who are also co-authors of the study, Emaan Sulaiman and Jillian Orden, who are part of FAU’s Charles E. Schmidt College of Science.

The study involved participants between the ages of 6 to 17, who completed a pre and post questionnaire that evaluated their pain, fear and anxiety. Rudnick used a 3D VR headset with a smartphone app that let the children choose a rollercoaster ride, helicopter ride or hot air balloon ride. The children could then enjoy the short VR experience as the injection was administered.

VR needles phobia study 2

The results showed that the pain and fear were reduced in 94.1% of study subjects.

For future coverage on VR use in healthcare, keep checking back with VRFocus.