3D Video Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy Study (3D-VVRET)

The University of Texas System (UT)

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Arachnophobia; Acrophobia

Treatments: Behavioral: 3D Video Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT02584387

2015-08-0008

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study seeks to examine a Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) using the 3D Video Virtual Reality (VR) technology for the fear of spiders.

Full description

An estimated 10-11% of the US population experiences a specific phobia at some point in their lives (American Psychiatric Association, 1994; Magee et al., 1996). About 60-85% of those individuals with a specific phobia never seek treatment (Agras, Sylvester, & Oliveau, 1969; Boyd et al., 1990; Magee et al., 1996). Clinical psychologist can help improve the number of phobia sufferers to seek treatment. Advances in technology are helping clinicians create novel treatment strategies for different anxiety disorders. Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) may help these individuals confront their fears and treat their phobia.

While virtual reality exposure therapy has shown promise in research (Powers & Emmelkamp, 2008), studies have shown that many users complain that the computer generated virtual reality (VR) stimuli looks unrealistic, eccentric and too much like a video game (Kwon, Powell, & Chalmers, 2013). Virtual reality environments have been traditionally created by programmers using video game assets and computer generated imagery (CGI). While CGI can be used to make intricate virtual environments, unless there is a team of expert digital artists, the virtual stimulus may end up looking rudimentary and exhibit a number of graphical glitches which could prove distracting in therapy. Furthermore CGI often suffers from the uncanny valley effect: the tendency of CGI representations of people to be viewed as unsettling as the representations become more lifelike. In addition the many current CGI virtual reality packages are expensive and only available for limited number of fear domains. Recently however an exciting alternative to traditional computer generated virtual reality has emerged: ortho-stereoscopic 3D Video VR. Ortho-stereoscopic 3D refers to 3D videos that are designed to mimic the natural depth we normally see, as opposed to exaggerating it (i.e. Commercial 3D movies). The benefit of 3D VR as opposed to CGI VR is that it is photo realistic, does not suffer from a uncanny valley effect of CGI, and is able to capture nuances of real life fears that are hard to reproduce with CGI.

Enrollment: 40 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 65 years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• • Between the ages of 18 and 65

  • At least one standard deviation above the SONA pool mean on Fear of Spiders Questionnaire or Acrophobia Questionnaire.

Exclusion criteria

• • Hearing or visually impaired where they cannot use the VRET gear

  • Currently (or in the last 3 months) receiving exposure-based treatment for acrophobia or arachnophobia

Trial design

Primary purpose: Treatment

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

40 participants in 2 patient groups

3D VVRET

Experimental group

Description:

Behavioral: 3D Video Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VVRET) 1 30 minute 3D VRET treatment session for arachnophobia.

Treatment:

Behavioral: 3D Video Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy

Waitlist

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants randomized to the waitlist group will complete all study procedures except the 3D VVRET. After the conclusion of their sessions, these participants will be offered the full 3D-VVRET treatment.