Designing a Multiple patient VRET system
By Christian Paping, Tu-delft, Human-Computer Interaction
Promo video:
<anyweb>http://www.youtube.com/v/sSm9l8Al46A&hl=en&fs=1&</anyweb>
Introduction
My research explores the possibility of one therapist treating two or more patients simultaneously with the VRET.
There are numerous reasons why exploring a multiple patient setup could be useful. First of all therapies are expensive and it could be possible that one therapist treating multiple patients in parallel could be a way to reduce the cost of the treatments. It could also be possible that fewer therapists can assist more patients, thus increasing the efficiency and accessibility of the treatments.
There are many different elements that are involved with the design of a multiple patient setup. Questions range from very practical, like where the patients will be located, does the patient need help putting the HMD on, to theoretical and psychological problems. For example, what are good ways for the therapist to cope with multiple patients at the same time and what factors influence the quality of this type of therapy.
Working with multiple patients simultaneously can eventually mean that the therapists might need assistance focusing their attention between patients. This could be done by implementing a computer system, between the patient and therapist, that continuously monitors the patients and warns the therapist if a patient needs attention. There is even the option of extending this system with modules that can take over specific tasks from the therapist if necessary.
Literature survey:
Literature survey to a multiple patient VRET system
Expert Interviews
User scenarios
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Claims
1) Therapy structure
• After an initial interview with a therapist, the patient can be redirected to other therapists for a remote VRET session.
• Ten minutes at the beginning of a VRET session is enough for the therapist to welcome and assist the patient.
2) Remote communication setup
• It is not necessary in VR exposure treatment, that the therapist and the patient have physical contact.
• The therapist can assist the patient completely with only verbal communication.
• For emergencies an assistant on location is enough to provide backup assistance.
3) Patient data gathering and presentation to the therapist
• The therapist will always like to hear all voices from all patients.
• The therapist will always like to see all patients on their own personal monitors.
• The therapist does not mind working with multiple monitors at the same time.
• Patients will accept that a computer system will ask them for their SUD score.
• The use of physiological measurement has a large benefit in the monitoring of a patient.
4) Patient assistant system
• It is possible to create pre-programmed VR-scenario phases that can be varied from minimal anxiety provoking to maximal anxiety provoking.
• It is important that the therapist can link these scenario phases to a complete scenario.
• The therapist is capable, having all the background information of the patient, to select an fitting scenario for the patient.
5) Therapist warning and assist system
• The therapist wants to be able to configure the automated assist him or herself.
• The therapist wants to be able to configure the warning system him or herself.
• An automated assist can autonomously switch to an easier VR scenario if the anxiety-score of a patient is too high for a certain amount of time.
• An automated assist can autonomously witch to a harder VR scenario if the anxiety-score of a patient is too low for a certain amount of time.
• An automated assist system can automatically operate if a therapist does not react within a certain range of time.
Videos
Scenario 1
<anyweb mywidth="300" myheight="200">http://www.youtube.com/v/4FBN_bBZePU</anyweb>
Scenario 2
<anyweb>http://www.youtube.com/v/cA0TIWbT0Yc</anyweb>
Scenario 3
<anyweb>http://www.youtube.com/v/XzeUAj4ssfE</anyweb>
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The Prototye software
Python 2.6
PyQT 4.4.4-2
http://www.riverbankcomputing.co.uk/
Download the software:
download
press which buttons
Runing a Session (sessionClient)
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Communication between sessions (mainServer)
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over view objects
Server:
main.py
mainWidgets.py
sessionControl.py
sessionStrore.py
simulatorCreator.py
myConnection.py
Client:
mainTherapist.py
therapisWidgets.py
session.py
Adjustment
therapistSoundImageControl.py
myConnection.py
User testing
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Results
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