Development of virtual environment for treating acrophobia.
Virtual Reality (VR) is a new technology that makes humans communicate with computer. It allows the user to see, hear, feel and interact in a three-dimensional virtual world created graphically. Virtual Reality Therapy (VRT), based on this sophisticated technology, has been recently used in the treatment of subjects diagnosed with acrophobia, a disorder that is characterized by marked anxiety upon exposure to heights, avoidance of heights, and a resulting interference in functioning. Conventional virtual reality system for the treatment of acrophobia has a limitation in scope that it is based on over-costly devices or somewhat unrealistic graphic scene. The goal of this study was to develop a inexpensive and more realistic virtual environment for the exposure therapy of acrophobia. We constructed two types virtual environment. One is constituted a bungee-jump tower in the middle of a city. It includes the open lift surrounded by props beside tower that allowed the patient to feel sense of heights. Another is composed of diving boards which have various heights. It provides a view of a lower diving board and people swimming in the pool to serve the patient stimuli upon exposure to heights.
Ku
J
J
Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
Jang
D
D
Shin
M
M
Jo
H
H
Ahn
H
H
Lee
J
J
Cho
B
B
Kim
S I
SI
D000531:Altitude; D003198:Computer Simulation; D003887:Desensitization, Psychologic; D006801:Humans; D010698:Phobic Disorders / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D012931:Social Environment; D012985:Software Design; D014584:User-Computer Interface