News
Contents
- 1 First article on VRET results in Dutch clinic
- 2 Interesting Blog about our project
- 3 New Video Tutorial available
- 4 Our project in QUEST
- 5 New poster about our VRET project
- 6 Junior TU Delft on VRET [continued]
- 7 Junior TU Delft on VRET
- 8 Lecture on the Delft VRET system
- 9 Master thesis by Siemen Roorda
First article on VRET results in Dutch clinic
Wiersma, J, Greeven, A., Berretty, E., Krijn, M en Emmelkamp, P. (2008). De effectiviteit van Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy voor hoogtevrees in de klinische praktijk. Gedragstherapie, 41, p. 253-259. (in Dutch)-- Look under Publications on this site.
Summary in English. The effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) for patients with acrophobia in clinical practice. The effectiveness of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) for patients with acrophobia has been shown in several academic settings. However, it is not clear if these results can be translated to the daily clinical practice. This article describes the effectiveness of VRET of acrophobia in a centre for anxiety disorders. Thirty-two patients participated in the study. At post-treatment there was a significant reduction of acrophobia and avoidance and participants gained significantly more self-efficacy and a more positive attitude towards heights. The effect sizes were high and comparable to those found in academic settings. It can be concluded that the effectiveness of VRET in academic settings can be translated to clinical practice. In short, VRET is a promising, and time-limited treatment for acrophobia. Key words: Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, acrophobia, clinical practice
Interesting Blog about our project
Eliane Alhadeff published an interesting blog about our project. She made a very good op-to-date summary of current and future research on VRET in Delft. Here is the link.
New Video Tutorial available
Two Delft students produced a new video tutorial about the use of our DVRET system for fear of flying. The focus is to explain the operational procedures of the VRET software to non-technical therapists. First, a general description is given of the DVRET system. Then, the main functionality, which is exposed by the graphic user interface of the VRET software, be discussed in a short session. This is followed by a schematic description of all the operational tasks, such as takeoff and landing of the airplane, which could be performed with a therapeutic session. Lastly, a few of these tasks will be described in more detail. Two video's are part of of the tutorial. Text on screen is in English, all voice overs are in Dutch.
Our project in QUEST
In the Dutch popular science journal Quest an article is published on fear of flying. The title is "Ontspannen Op Reis". Issue of Quest 07/2008 pp. 52-55. The work of our partner VALK and our Delft VRET system is presented.
New poster about our VRET project
A new poster of our project and system is designed by Willem-Paul Brinkman. Our new focus on social phobia is presented. You can download it here. (pdf)
Junior TU Delft on VRET [continued]
The highschool students finished the course on VRET succesfully. Four worlds were developed for treating social phobia. They are evaluated with scenarios designed by the highschool students themselves! The worlds are: Platform on a train station, Bus stop, Clothing shop and Reception desk of a restaurant. Made with Maya and run in UnReal. With talking avatars. Here are impressions of the worlds. The implementation is done by Daniel de Vliegher.
http://mmi.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/images/Treinstation.jpg http://mmi.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/images/Bushalte.jpg http://mmi.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/images/Winkel.jpg http://mmi.tudelft.nl/~vrphobia/images/Restaurant.jpg
Junior TU Delft on VRET
Delft University of Technology presents during March and April 2008 a course on VRET for high school students in Randstad. In 5 days the students (5-6 VWO) design a virtual world for treating fear for public speaking. The real implementation is done by our master students.
Lecture on the Delft VRET system
For the course Highly Interactive Systems of the master programme Media and Knowledge Enineering at Delft Charles van der Mast gave a lecture about the architecture and the development of the Delft VRET system. The lecture takes 45 minutes. The recording of voice and slides is here.
Master thesis by Siemen Roorda
Our master student Siemen Roorda finished his Thesis for the programme Media and Knowledge Engineering The title is: Develop[ing a general framework for the Delft VRET application. He re-implemented our system based on Vizard and the programming language Python. Look under Publications/Reports at this site.
