Virtually scaring the fear out of people
FREDERICTON - Darren Piercey is helping people come face-to-face with their worst fears in digital form.
The University of New Brunswick researcher is developing virtual reality technology to help treat anxiety disorders and phobias.
During virtual reality treatment, patients strap on a helmet and are immersed in a 3D world that uses graphics similar to the latest generation of computer video games.
"The participant would be inside some kind of virtual environment that we create. If they turn their head, the computer can tell that they've turned and the environment would turn accordingly," Piercey said.
The scenarios are detailed enough to convince the brain to react as if the situation was real.
"Let's say you're treating someone with a fear of heights. You might create some scenarios where they were walking up along a catwalk and looking down onto the city."
Piercey uses virtual reality as part of a cognitive behavioural therapy regime. The therapy systematically exposes patients to fearful objects and situations.
At first, patients experience an escalation in anxiety. However, the anxiety declines to near normal levels with prolonged exposure to the fear stimuli.
In some cases, using virtual reality, clinicians can create scenarios that would be difficult or near impossible in the real world.
Digital environments have proven to be just as effective as real-world scenarios when it comes to treating some anxieties and phobias, Piercey said.
Virtual reality is also more effective than having patients imagine their fears or exposing them to photos of their phobias, he added.
"(Virtual reality) is already being used for certain types of disorders, fear of flying, fear of heights," he said. "But we're trying to develop some scenarios for generalized anxiety. Maybe somebody who might be obsessive compulsive or someone with a fear of germs or someone with post-traumatic stress."
Piercey has been awarded a Harrison McCain Young Scholars Award, valued at roughly $25,000, to support his research.
He's working with UNB psychology professor Dave Clark and 25 other researchers from across Canada on the virtual reality project, which has also been funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation.
"We'll be looking at obsessive compulsive disorder in Fredericton and some other centres will also be looking at that."
The Harrison McCain award and the innovation foundation funding will help with groundwork research that will enable Piercey to apply for larger grants.
Piercey is hoping to use some of the grant money to develop new software to create 3D environments for use in treating different disorders.
There are a number of advantages to building his own software tools instead of using off-the-shelf video game software, he said.
"You have more control over the environment. Also ... it gives you the possibility of marketing the software as well," said Piercey.
Sales of the software will help Piercey further his research.
"The hope is that eventually (the scenarios) will be able to be used by clinicians in their practices."
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