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Using Mobile VR to Assess Claustrophobia During an MRI

Using Mobile VR to Assess Claustrophobia During an MRI

new methods for exposure therapy

Stephanie O’Malley

Dr. Richard Brown and his colleague Dr. Jadranka Stojanovska had an idea for how VR could be used in a clinical setting. Having realized a problem with patients undergoing MRI scans experiencing claustrophobia, they wanted to use VR simulations to introduce potential patients to what being inside an MRI machine might feel like.

Duderstadt Center programmer Sean Petty and director Dan Fessahazion alongside Dr. Richard Brown

Claustrophobia in this situation is a surprisingly common problem. While there are 360 videos that convey what an MRI might look like, these fail to address the major factor contributing to claustrophobia: The perceived confined space within the bore. 360 videos tend to make the environment skewed, seeming further away than it would be in reality and thereby failing to induce the same feelings of claustrophobia that the MRI bore would produce in reality. With funding from the Patient Education Award Committee, Dr. Brown approached the Duderstadt Center to see if a better solution could be produced.

VR MRI: Character customization
A patient enters feet-first into the bore of the MRI machine.

In order to simulate the effects of an MRI accurately, a CGI MRI machine was constructed and ported to the Unity game engine. A customize-able avatar representing the viewer’s body was also added to give viewers a sense of self. When a VR headset is worn, the viewer’s perspective allows them to see their avatar body and the real proportions of the MRI machine as they are slowly transported into the bore. Verbal instructions mimic what would be said throughout the course of a real MRI, with the intimidating boom of the machine occurring as the simulated scan proceeds.

Two modes are provided within the app: Feet first or head first, to accommodate the most common scanning procedures that have been shown to induce claustrophobia.  

In order to make this accessible to patients, the MRI app was developed with mobile VR in mind, allowing anyone (patients or clinicians) with a VR-capable phone to download the app and use it with a budget friendly headset like Google Daydream or Cardboard.

Dr. Brown’s VR simulator was recently featured as the cover story in the September edition of Tomography magazine.

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S.C.I Hard Available in App Store

S.C.I Hard Available in App Store

Those with spinal cord injuries (SCI) encounter a drastically different world when they are released from the hospital. With varying degrees of disability, mobility and function, the world around them becomes a collection of physical and mental challenges which is a complete departure from their previous lifestyles. Whether they are in crutches or manual/automatic wheelchairs, they need to learn mobility, scheduling, and social tasks once again.

Players in S.C.I Hard must navigate a chaotic club scene to wrangle escaped tarsier monkeys

S.C.I Hard is a mobile game developed by the Duderstadt Center and designed by Dr. Michelle Meade for the Center for Technology & Independence (TIKTOC RERC) with funding from a NIDRR Field Initiated Development Grant.

Its purpose is to assist persons with spinal cord injury and develop and apply the necessary skills to keep their bodies healthy while managing the many aspects of SCI care, serving as a fun and engaging manual for individuals with spinal cord injuries learning independence. Tasks such as scheduling, mobility, and social interaction are all integrated subtly into the game. Players engage in goofy quests, from befriending roid-raging girlscouts in the park to collecting tarsier monkeys running rampant at a night club. The goal of S.C.I Hard was to be different from most medically oriented games, so players don’t feel like they’re being lectured or bombarded with  boring medical jargon, and instead learn the important concepts of their condition in a more light-hearted and engaging way.

Players shop for a handicap accessible vehicle to take their road test as they learn independence

With more than 30 different scenarios and mini-games, a full cast of odd characters to talk with, and dozens of collectible items and weapons only you can save the town from impending doom. SCI-Hard puts you, the player, in the chair of someone with a Spinal Cord Injury. Introducing you to new challenges and obstacles all while trying to save the world from legions of mutated animals. Join the fight and kick a** while sitting down!

S.C.I Hard is now available for free on Apple and Android devices through the app store, but will require participation in the subsequent study or feedback group to play:

Apple Devices: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sci-hard/id1050205395?mt=8

Android Devices: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=edu.umich.mobile.SciHard&hl=en

To learn more about the subsequent study or to participate in the study involving S.C.I Hard, visit:
http://cthi.medicine.umich.edu/projects/tiktoc-rerc/projects/r2