Virtual Environments for the Treatment of Acrophobia Ambientes Virtuais para Tratamento de Acrofobia
Raquel Ellem Marcelino de Oliveira, Jauvane Cavalcante De Oliveira · 2018
The prototype introduced in this work allows a physiotherapist to perform an exposition therapy from within his/her own office, all done through a VR setup. In such a environment a patient is exposed to a controlled situation that induces various degrees of anxiety, but without the risks involved in a live session. The prototype focuses on fear of heights, but does so minimizing the need for exquisite devices, relying in a low-cost setup. The prototype implements two virtual environments, both of which contain a set of anxiety-inducing events. Aiming at obtaining greater realism, an immersive setup has been chosen, namely an Oculus Rift DK1 device which is used to show the virtual world to the user. We carry out various tests in order to validate the prototype effectiveness. The results suggest that the system is effective.