August 3rd, 2007
PTSD symptoms treated with virtual reality
Odd as it may seem, doctors are using virtual reality to treat post traumatic stress syndrome among Iraq veterans, The Washington Post reports.
Virtual-reality therapy provides doctors with a tool that uses visual, auditory and thermal cues to set the stage for treatment of veterans with the disorder, which causes nightmares and flashbacks. It can be so severe that some victims withdraw from society.
In clinical studies, eight Iraq veterans with PTSD underwent virtual reality treatment and six showed a reduction of symptoms, said Dr. Albert Rizzo, a University of Southern California psychologist developing a virtual reality system.
“We’re very enthusiastic that this is really going to start to make a difference,” Rizzo said.
Treatment involves interviewing the soldier to what triggered PTSD and customizing a VR scenario for that person.
“You really can do a lot of things … to heighten the level of realism of the experience,” said Mark Wiederhold, president and director of Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego.
“The issue is you want to access the fear hierarchy in patients,” Wiederhold said. “Only about 15 percent of people are good imaginers. They have difficulty maintaining that state of imagining a scenario. Virtual reality is a much more vivid experience.”
