Creating a Virtual Reality (VR) Avatar Experience to Treat Patients with Schizophrenic Auditory Hallucinations in a Randomized Controlled Trial

This talk should interest technical and healthcare professionals interested in using VR in translating research to clinical trials.

The speakers from Khora A/S will explain the VR experience they created for use in a randomized controlled trial n=266 from a design, development, human factors, and psychological perspective. The Danish Innovation Fund funded their work.

Khora is a leading Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) production studio with a large staff of skilled interdisciplinary professionals engaged in multiple industries, including healthcare and gaming. Notable about this talk is Khora, under clinical guidance, has applied its VR studio expertise to revise earlier 2-dimensional prototypes used in earlier studies for state-of-the-art VR HMDs in this trial.

The study is based on the earlier research in avatar therapy for auditory verbal hallucinations by Professor Julian Leff, Ph.D. at the University of Central London, and Tom Craig, Ph.D. King's College London.

The study is underway in three clinics in Denmark under the direction of Merete Nordentoft Ph.D. Psychiatric Center Copenhagen, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Copenhagen.

This trial examines the effect of targeted virtual reality therapy on persistent auditory hallucinations in individuals with psychosis. The trial explores whether this type of therapy can decrease the severity, frequency, and distress of auditory hallucinations and, additionally, whether it can reduce clinical symptoms and enhance daily functioning in individuals with psychosis.