Chch-created virtual reality helping ease anxiety in UK
Spiders, flying and heights are some anxieties tackled by a Christchurch virtual reality company. Now a collaboration with a health provider on the other side of the world is allowing users to confront another fear from the comfort of their home.
The National Health Service (NHS) in the UK noticed people with autism had anxieties about going to hospital — enough to stop them attending appointments.
To improve appointment attendance, the NHS has teamed up with Christchurch companyoVRcome to help these patients reduce their anxieties without even stepping out the front door.
oVRcome founder Adam Hutchinson and his team have worked with the NHS and the UK’s autism community, filming in hospitals and clinics to build a programme that simulates situations patients encounter during an appointment.
A special camera films the environment specifically for the programme, mapping out the entire journey patients can expect to experience in the real world, including social stories.
If something unexpected happened in the waiting room of a GP - like being asked a question, or having to wait a bit longer than they’re used to - “we’re able to use virtual reality to help them experience what it’s like and how to navigate those situations … in advance”, Hutchinson said.
“So by the time they need to get that procedure, they’re far less likely to cancel.”
Hutchinson said oVRcome grabbed the attention of the NHS after clinical trials carried out by the University of Otago in 2021 studied the benefits of virtual reality on five phobias.
The results, published in 2022, showed a 75% reduction in severity across the phobias, “which was a significant result for us”, Hutchinson said.
“Off the back of that publication, we picked up interest from NHS.”
Hutchinson created his company with one goal in mind, to deliver a treatment for anxiety disorders that was accessible and affordable and could be used “in the privacy of their own homes”, he said.
The programmes unfold before the users’ eyes from a smartphone app, and the virtual reality headsets supplied by oVRcome houses the phone.
Most of the “heavy lifting” was done by smartphones, which cut out the hefty cost of a virtual reality headset.
About 80% of people with an anxiety disorder did not get treatment because it was too expensive to see a clinician, there were long wait lists and a perceived stigma, and access could be limited depending on their location, he said.
“This is a global issue we’re solving from here in Christchurch. Something we’re already starting to make some inroads into.”
Exposure therapy had been the proven and traditional way of easing anxieties - including needles, spiders and heights but Hutchison said being exposed to that in real life “is just too hard” for many.
That was where virtual reality offered a solution, he said.
As well as the by the NHS, oVRcome’s technology had been picked up around the globe, reaching 35 countries so far.
Thousands of headsets had been shipped “from right here in Christchurch” to places including the United States, Kazakhstan and Norway.
“It’s interesting to see the journey of a headset, to the absolute most remote places,” Hutchison said.
“It’s awesome for us to see we’re having an effect in all corners of the world.”