Diving into my first virtual reality experience I felt like Alice down the rabbit hole. Within the blink of the eye I found myself within the cockpit of the Blue Angel, soaring through the sky. My head was at the clouds while my feet were firmly on the floor. When i became engulfed within the experience, memories of my childhood came flooding back-of family days out at air shows: located on my father's shoulders staring up in to the sky, eating cotton candy I distributed to my sister, climbing into an old plane repurposed like a play area. Treasured moments I'd forgotten long ago.
An assisted living resident, Betty Lee, has a similar tale to tell. Eventually, submerged 20 feet below water and swimming with dolphins, she'd probably the most vivid recollection. \”I used to take my daughter to L.A. to some dolphin pool. My daughter leaned over and her blonde hair hit the water so that as soon because it did, a dolphin came over and began playing with it.\” It is a memory she shared with Shawn Wiora, co-founder of MyndVR, an online reality company whose mission would be to produce a new genre of virtual reality-entertaining and therapeutic experiences designed for seniors.
The idea for MyndVR found Shawn when he was coordinating a music therapy trial in West Texas. Patients were given their own iPod and personalized soundtracks. \”The results were off the charts and that got me thinking about the implications for VR,\” Shawn says. He presented the concept to uncle, Chris Brickler, an Emmy Award nominee-director and actor-and following a conversation which spanned just three beers, they quit their jobs and Chris relocated to Richardson from Palo Alto, California.
That was two years ago. Today, because of a donation of VR technology from Samsung, MyndVR has created a system which is wireless and operates completely hands free-making it easy to make use of and excellent for seniors.
Unlike some virtual reality systems which operate with wires and have joysticks or paddles, the MyndVR headset gets its power from a repurposed Samsung mobile phone and it is operated purely by sight. Inside the headset is really a small sensor which tracks the movement of the eyeball-users travel through different experiences simply by taking a look at where they would like to go. When you put the headset on and also have manually adjusted the main focus to suit you, you are able to literally relax, relax and allow your eyes do all the work. You see a menu of options-from race car driving to standing on stage with the symphony orchestra-and choose the experience simply by looking at it. Poof! You're there; diving at the end from the ocean or even strolling around in the Vincent van Gogh painting. You won't want to, but to get out you simply look at the exit sign.
While Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy has existed for many years, its application to treating seniors is completely new. So new, will still be within the trial phase. Actually, the initial trial just took place in the Legacy Willow Bend, a consistent care retirement community in Plano.
\”We started with 20 seniors, and we thought we'd probably lose about 50 % because we have residents flying in hot air balloons, jumping out of airplanes-exploring gives up New Zealand. But we simply had one drop out-and even had other people who actually sought us to participate,\” Shawn says.
The results have been mind-blowing.
George Rothkopf's vision improved. George, who is affected with macular degeneration and struggles to see anything beyond vague shapes and figures, actually reported being able to see clearly while using MyndVR.
David Grishman, who suffers from Parkinson's along with a severe case of vertigo, experienced complete respite from his symptoms. \”When I first did virtual reality I was concerned it would make me more dizzy, but when I put the headset on I realized that my dizziness was gone,\” David says. \”I saw 3D movies like a kid. Virtual reality is like 3D on steroids,\” he adds having a grin.
A resident coping with Alzheimer's, Ada Lynn, became her old self again. When the trial began, she was using a difficult day, but because the virtual reality transported her to a jazz club to savor an active performance by Max Vontaine she began to smile. \”She was on! She was dancing, she was immersive-she was happy,\” her daughter says.
The most common result was regaining memory. The vivid, interactive and fully immersive experience brought old memories bubbling towards the surface-like Edna who remembered going to the dolphin pool in L.A.
Other residents of The Legacy Willow Bend found it fun and relaxing-a opportunity to go places they'd never been to, to reside experiences they would otherwise not have the chance to. Christina Chan explained about her experience scuba diving. \”I went scuba diving in Taiwan. It offers a superior a feeling as if you are actually there. You can look 360 degrees around. All the fish swim around you and also you see the coral. It is something I would never do the truth is.\”
This preliminary \”observational\” trial raised a lot of questions. Would everyone experience relief from vertigo? Why and how does virtual reality improve sight? Can respite from symptoms be made to last past the virtual reality experience?
The next stage is numerous studies. \”We'll be working with the UTD,\” Shawn says. \”The residents will have an MRI brain scan to measure the neuroplasticity from the brain. It's scientifically proven that if you are able to improve neuroplasticity, you are able to improve cognitive wellness. There's likely to be lots of future research that comes using this first trial.\”
In the near future, Shawn foresees physicians actually prescribing virtual reality sessions-doses-to help alleviate symptoms and perhaps even as preventative care. \”By linking to some health care management system, health care providers will be able to see what a patient has been experiencing and also at the same time frame see if a particular type of experience is much more beneficial to their condition than the others,\” he explains.
Brian Barnes, interim CEO and CFO/COO from the Legacy Senior Communities agrees: \”Virtual reality has the potential to take part in our programming as a type of clinical treatment or entertainment in the future. We look forward to continuing this collaboration to explore this new technology.\”
Family members might even enter on the action, too. \”A future phase allows members of the family to sign up. They might fly a plane together, for instance,\” Shawn says.
While these initial results have raised more questions than they've answered, there is no doubt there is a future in making use of virtual reality to improve the caliber of life for seniors.