ReCoVR: Realising Collaborative Virtual Reality for Wellbeing and Self-healing

Abstract

In early 2016 the ReCoVR team evaluated a novel system for remote acquisition of a meditation based stress and anxiety reduction therapy, mindfulness. The system is based on a cloud server web-interface and remote clients, using Samsung smartphones, with GearVR virtual reality (VR) glasses. The application enables group sessions in the virtual world, 3D videos and real-time interactions, as well as standalone meditation. An 8-week mindfulness based stress reduction course has been designed for this VR application. The course was preliminary tested with 8 participants; 4 employees and 4 patients with traumatic brain injuries. Their outcomes were evaluated using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). The results are encouraging and may accelerate the development of innovative uses of tele-psychology technologies.

The Benefits of emotion Regulation Interventions in Virtual Reality for the Improvement of Wellbeing in Adults and Older Adults: A Systematic Review

“…Table 2 shows the results for the risk of bias assessment. All the studies included in this review reported the sampling method [41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51], although the performance and the detection biases during blinding phase were unclear for all but one [41]. Concerning the outcomes, only two studies [45,47] presented high risk of bias for missing data handled appropriately or for missing a match between methods and results.…”

“…Concerning the outcomes, only two studies [45,47] presented high risk of bias for missing data handled appropriately or for missing a match between methods and results. Among other risks, we reported a high risk of bias for a small sample size with a range from eight to fifteen participants in three studies [44,47,51]. We considered important to report also a high risk of bias for lacking a control group for an experimental comparison [44,45,[47][48][49][50][51].…”

“…We considered important to report also a high risk of bias for lacking a control group for an experimental comparison [44,45,[47][48][49][50][51]. Lastly, only one study addressed to patients have reported a high risk for no homogeneous clinical sample due to differences in clinical diseases and their specific characteristics [44] that might affect the interpretation of the outcomes. A clean sample is crucial for the comprehension of the ramification of disease on emotional functioning.…”

“…Two of these used Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Meditation through virtual environments as a non-pharmacological approach to treating chronic disorders, such as chronic pain [43], and patients with traumatic brain injuries [44]. In both studies, virtual meditation was significantly more effective than MBSR alone in reducing reported levels of pain [43], and at making participants experience a higher level of satisfaction [44]. Singh et al have examined the impact of VR games on psychological wellbeing, upper limb motor function and reaction time in adults with physical disabilities.…”

“…The examined studies have used different types of virtual reality systems. Among the studies that have used immersive VR systems, two have selected a head-mounted display in combination with a smartphone and a head-tracker [42,44]. However, in the study conducted by Tong et al [43], the authors used a Virtual Meditative Walk system that requires the use of a stereoscopic VR display.…”