Virtual reality offers hope for veterans
I’ve mentioned virtual reality technology in the past, specifically how it can be used to aid those undergoing skin grafts (last paragraph). Virtual reality is back in the news, this time how it can help those dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from battlefield situations.
VR has been used before to help veterans, but never so soon after a conflict. Some are veterans just returned home, and some are still on active duty. Regardless, the treatments seem to be helping.
At this University of Southern California think tank, Hollywood special-effects pros and game developers come together to develop new immersive simulation technologies for the military. Most are used as training tools, but this time, the goal is to help combatants cope with the personal psychological effects of war in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.
After a few minutes of increasingly intense activity, my heart speeds up, my breathing becomes more shallow, my palms become warmer — and I’m really, really ready to stop the sim.
“This is not a self-help tool, and it’s not something you download yourself off the internet,” said Rizzo, when I’m finally allowed to remove the headgear. “Everything you experienced is a function of us turning knobs and pulling switches. If we noticed your heart rate was too fast, we’d pull back on things.”
This VR simulator is a spin-off of Full Spectrum Warrior, the FPS developed as an Army training tool. The operator can select any theater of combat, and simulate almost any scenario, helping soldiers revisit traumatic situations. Developers are even working to recreate the smells from combat.
“We’re going to integrate a smell machine, to bring people back to places they’ve been before,” said Rizzo. “We’re building a collection. We already have burning rubber, diesel fuel, body odor, garbage and Iraqi spices.”
The therapy has been extremely successful:
Another of Spira’s patients in the VR program was a Marine machine-gunner who experienced nightmares and other disturbances after suffering a severe shoulder wound in combat.
“The first thing out of his mouth was, ‘The pain is pretty intense, but what’s more intense is that I hear the voices of my fallen comrades all the time,’” recalled Spira.
“I asked if he meant that he could recall their voices in his imagination, and he said, ‘No. I hear them now, calling to me, as if they are right here with us in this room.’”
Spira said the disturbances lessened after weeks of immersive sessions.
There is a video available for download so you can see what the patients using the VR goggles see and hear. It’s more realistic than Battlefield 2 (I kept twitching the mouse during playback to look around), and I can only imagine what the experience inside the simulator would be like. I nearly jumped a few times when the machinegun on the HMMVW fired unexpectedly. Coupled with the capability to add smells, the simulation is quite convincing indeed. It’s nice to see video game technology being used in such a productive, healing fashion. It’s unfortunate that positive developments such as these don’t get the press that the negative commentary on video games so often gets.
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