The Observer, February 10, 2006
Volume XXXVIII, Issue 16
Virtual reality used for treatment, therapy
Inspired by Star Trek's holodeck, a virtual reality theatre will be built for treatment and therapy purposes at the Cleveland Hearing and Speech Center. The theatre is titled, "Immersive Virtual Reality Cave Simulator" (IVR-Cave).
Under the guidance of Stacy Willams, an assistant professor in communication services at Case, the construction on the theater will be complete by April 2006. Williams formulated the concept of the room with inspiration from Star Trek while she was working on her master's degree.
"I was intrigued by the whole holodeck concept, and at the time [when working on a masters degree], I was learning the importance of carry-over techniques, or generalizing what you learn in therapy to a natural environment," Williams said.
With this new simulator, therapists will get a chance to show patients real-life scenarios in a controlled environment, before they are out on their own in the real world.
The IVR-Cave is a patient's own personalized IMAX Theater, complete with three screens which encompass the patient with 180 degrees of high-definition film and surround sound, according to Williams.
The patient will be able to watch interactive movies on the big screens from an elevated platform in the middle of the room. The interactive movies provide patients with practice in social situations, but also allow the therapist to monitor results.
For example, someone may be undergoing speech therapy for stuttering problems. After stepping into the room, they are presented with a film featuring a McDonald's worker asking them for their order. Depending on the response from the patient, the therapist can choose particular branch points through the scenario.
If the patient is acting belligerent, the worker may go and get the manager, while if the customer's stuttering becomes overwhelming, the worker may show amused facial expressions.
Recording technology allows scenarios and patient reactions to be replayed, in order for a patient to find out why a particular character replied in the way that he did. Also, biometric feedback will give analysts the ability to record when anxiety or heartbeat rates increases, correlating these feedbacks with the appropriate branch point in the scenario.
"The simulator plays all these different scenarios out for you [the therapist] to get a feeling of a true environment so you can practice the therapy techniques you need to do," Williams said.
During a short weekend trip to a small Hollywood studio in February, Williams, along with directors from other Case media institutions such as MediaVision, helped create three films to bring to the Case theatre: the McDonalds scenario, a drive-thru scenario, and a mother-child interaction.
After three days of filming, the crew crafted multiple branch points for any number of patient responses. For instance, instead of waiting in line by himself, the therapist could choose to place the patient in a line behind a person trying unsuccessfully to place an order in Spanish.
Not only will patients and therapists have access to the laboratory, but students will as well. Williams hopes to bring classes in for virtual case studies, in which a student is able to talk to the parent of an undiagnosed child, talk to the child, give tests, and determine the diagnosis.
"The best part of simulated learning means you learn from your mistakes…making you stronger once you get out into the real world," Williams said.
The lab's target audience is students in the communication sciences and disorders major; however, Williams envisions future scenarios and opportunities for all students.
Setting the standard for IVR-Cave virtual environments in medicine and therapy, Williams hopes to improve upon the technology in the years to come. While the simulator targets patients with fluency disorders and those using computer augmentative communication devices, Williams is currently working on a grant to the National Alliance for Autism Research, to provide movies to simulate social stories.
