The Virtual Reality Medical Center was mentioned in a recent article published January 1st- what a way to ring in the new year!
Read the full article by Stuart Major: The future of the real world is artificial
Author: Brenda Wiederhold
28th Annual Meeting of the Academy of Integrative Pain Management
On Friday, October 20, Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold was an invited speaker at the Academy of Integrative Pain Management’s 28th Annual Meeting. As the “largest network of pain care professionals”, this conference exhibited the best practices and latest advancements in integrative pain management. Recent attention on the opioid crisis in America has heightened the awareness for nonpharmacological adjunctive pain care techniques. Virtual reality (VR) has emerged as an innovative technological application for pain distraction.
Dr. Wiederhold’s presentation focused on the use of virtual reality as an adjunctive pain management tool. With twenty-four years of clinical virtual reality (VR) experience, Dr. Wiederhold shared her VR research in dental pain management, surgical pain distraction, and chronic pain management. Referencing less medication, less pain, and lower physician stress, Dr. Wiederhold cited recent surgical pain distraction publications that highlight the significance of VR’s health care capabilities. “In both gynecological surgery and endoscopic procedures, physiological indicators of pain were reduced in patients using VR distraction”, Wiederhold noted. As well, in chronic pain management, VR can be a useful adjunctive tool for patient education and therapy. The presentation concluded with a brief question and answer.
Contact: frontoffice @ vrphobia.com (delete the spaces to send an email)
Visit our YouTube channel for more information: www.Youtube.com/VirtualMedical
Virtual Reality for the Attenuation of Pain and Anxiety
The Virtual Reality Medical Center and nonprofit affiliate, Interactive Media Institute, recently published the article, “Using Virtual Reality to Mobilize Health Care: Mobile Virtual Reality Technology for Attenuation of Anxiety and Pain” in the January Issue of IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine. The article summarizes the use of virtual reality as a tool for pain distraction and stress reduction in patients. This tool has been used to treat phobias, stress disorders, distract from surgical pain, and help overcome chronic pain. As a mobile healthcare platform, virtual reality and related technologies are changing the face of healthcare services by increasing access, efficiency, and effectiveness.
For the full text, please visit: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8197481/
Please direct any questions regarding this article to Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold at frontoffice@vrphobia.com
Wiederhold BK, Miller IT, Wiederhold MD. Using Virtual Reality to Mobilize Health Care: Mobile Virtual Reality Technology for Attenuation of Anxiety and Pain. IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine. 2018 Jan;7(1):106-9.
Emerging Technologies Helping to Mobilize Healthcare Services
Collaborating with an international group of researchers, Dr. Brenda Wiederhold, Ian Miller, and Dr. Mark Wiederhold recently published a chapter in Digital Health: Scaling Healthcare to the World. Edited by Homero Rivas and Katarzyna Wac of Stanford University, this book presents a comprehensive overview of state-of-the-art approach to digital health technologies and healthcare practices. Wiederhold, Miller, and Wiederhold contributed a chapter titled, “Augmenting Behavioral Healthcare:Mobilizing Services with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.” This chapter focuses on the use of virtual and augmented reality in behavioral healthcare. More specifically, it describes how these portable technologies can be used to increase access and efficiency of behavioral health interventions.
You may purchase the full text at: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-319-61446-5_9
For questions regarding the chapter, please contact Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold (frontoffice@vrphobia.com).
Wiederhold BK, Miller I, Wiederhold MD. Augmenting Behavioral Healthcare: Mobilizing Services with Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. InDigital Health 2018 (pp. 123-137). Springer, Cham.
Encompassing Mental Health
San Diego, CA: On September 29th, 2017, Interactive Media Institute (IMI) traveled to Riverside, California to present at the annual Encompassing Mental Health (EMH) conference. Organized by Reach Out and the Inland Health Professions Coalition—a youth development organization—this event educated high school juniors and seniors in the Moreno Valley area on behavioral health practice, pathway, and occupations. IMI’s representative, Ian Miller, spoke to the conference attendees about the use of virtual reality in behavioral health interventions and the importance of increasing access to mental health services in their community. Additionally, the attendees participated in a group discussion about destigmatizing mental illness. When asked about what they had learned, one student planning to study psychology in college said “I’d never heard of virtual reality therapy until today, but it’s an interesting new field in psychology!” While receiving a demonstration on the use of virtual reality relaxation in the treatment of anxiety disorders, another attendee said “It’s so cool that I can just put on this headset and sit on a beach to relax.”
The Impact of Technology on Childhood and Adolescence
On Friday, November 17, Dr. Brenda K Wiederhold gave the invited keynote address at the Cyberbullying, Psychological Well-Being of Teenagers and New Media Conference in Milan, Italy. The conference was attended by parents, reserachers, clinicians and heads of the Fondazione Varenna, Municipal Council of Milan and Lombardy Region General Welfare Directorate. The presentation focused on both the positive and the negative impact that Virtual Reality and Social Networking are having on today’s children and adolescents. We must work together to embrace the positive and develop strategies to correct the negative.
http://duerrecongressi.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/okbis04-bullismo-17-novembre-2017.pdf
In her November 2017 editorial for CyberPsychology, Behavior & Social Networking Journal, she addresses the digital anxieties shaping our next generation’s mental health.
http://online.liebertpub.com/toc/cyber/20/11
Contact: frontoffice @ vrphobia.com (delete the spaces to send an email)
Visit our YouTube channel for more information: www.Youtube.com/VirtualMedical
Phobias Born of Our High-Tech Lifestyles
http://www.medicaldaily.com/smartphone-separation-anxiety-may-be-linked-personal-memories-study-says-421507
“Nomophobia, fear of missing out (FoMo), and fear of being offline (FoBo), — all anxieties born of our new high-tech lifestyles — may be treated similarly to other more traditional phobias,” Wiederhold said in a statement.“Exposure therapy, in this case turning off technology periodically, can teach individuals to reduce anxiety and become comfortable with periods of disconnectedness.”
Contact Information:
frontoffice @ vrphobia.com
+1 858 642 0267
Professor Dr. Brenda K Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCB, BCN
Gender Differences in Virtual Reality Surgical Pain Distraction
Researchers from Belgium, Italy, Mexico, and California (USA) recently published a report comparing gender differences in virtual reality pain distraction following cardiac surgery. This international team from previous compared patients’ physiological and subjective responses based on gender. Very few studies have examined gender differences in physiological responses to VR. This study suggests that VR is an effective medium to reduce stress and anxiety in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. The researchers are interested in continued investigation and are working toward making this intervention more effective, less expensive and available across platforms to include mobile healthcare and behavioral health.
For information on this study, please contact the corresponding author, Brenda K. Wiederhold (frontoffice@vrphobia.com).
To access the full text: http://www.alliedacademies.org/articles/study-of-gender-differences-in-vr-response-following-cardiac-surgery-6922.html
Mosso JL, Wiederhold BK, La Paglia F, Guarino D, La Barbera D, Mosso Jr JL, Miller I, Wiederhold MD. Study of gender differences in VR response following cardiac surgery. Journal of Psychology and Cognition. 2017;2(1). http://www.alliedacademies.org/articles/study-of-gender-differences-in-vr-response-following-cardiac-surgery-6922.html
The Power of Virtual Reality for Pain and Anxiety
The Pain Practitioner interviewed Professor Dr. Brenda K Wiederhold, Chief Executive Officer of the Interactive Media Institute, a 501c3 non-profit,
and President of the Virtual Reality Medical Center. Please click on Pain Practitioner link above to read the 3-page interview.
Contact Information:
Email: frontoffice @ vrphobia.com
Wiederhold’s clinic uses the technology for medical therapy to help patients deal with PTSD, anxiety, phobias (like fear of flying), pain during medical procedures and chronic pain. She predicts more clinics using VR will pop-up in California and across the country within the near future.
Contact Information:
Virtual Reality Medical Center
9834 Genesee Avenue, Suite 427
La Jolla, California USA
frontoffice @ vrphobia.com
Helping teens curb the desire to smoke with virtual reality
On July 31, 2017 The Open Family Studies Journal published “Virtual Reality Smoking Cessation—Designed for Teens, by Teens. This report, conducted by the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) and Interactive Media Institute (IMI), sought to teach high school students how to recognize and resist triggers or “cues” that make them want to smoke. With input from the students themselves, VRMC created a virtual home and virtual school containing scenes that typically evoke an urge to smoke. The students were then prompted with games like stomp the cigarette butt to help extinguish the urge. They could also choose to play the virtual drums as a form of distraction. Overall, the report explains the Cue Exposure Therapy (CET) used to treat smoking addictions, how the virtual environments were created, and the program functionalities.
For more information on the publication, you can download it for free here: https://benthamopen.com/FULLTEXT/TOFAMSJ-9-21 or contact Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold at the Virtual Reality Medical Center.
Wiederhold BK, Miller I, Wiederhold MD. Virtual Reality Smoking Cessation–Designed for Teens, by Teens. The Open Family Studies Journal. 2017 Jul 31;9(1).