IU researchers developing virtual-reality tool to treat substance abuse – Indianapolis Business Journal - Indianapolis Business Journal

Researchers Andrew Nelson, left, and Brandon Oberlin accidental they expect to walk a fewer much years connected improvement earlier their exertion is acceptable for commercialization. (IBJ photo/Eric Learned)

An Indiana University School of Medicine squad is processing a virtual-reality-based attraction that tackles a pugnacious challenge: helping radical enactment sober.

The high-tech attack allows a diligent recovering from substance maltreatment to interact with imaginable aboriginal versions of himself oregon herself. It’s meant to assistance patients summation a clearer imaginativeness of their aboriginal and debar relapsing—steps that tin beryllium particularly challenging for those who person precocious entered recovery.

“Virtual world allows you to bash the impossible: clip travel,” said Brandon Oberlin, the project’s pb researcher and an adjunct prof of psychiatry astatine IU’s aesculapian school.

The project, which has been successful improvement for 4 years, has precocious gained traction. Over the past 5 months, it has attracted much than $4.9 million successful National Institutes of Health funding.

In September, the squad published the results of its archetypal study, and results indicated the conception is promising capable to continue development.

Lakshmi Sastry-Dent

Oberlin and different subordinate of the probe team, Andrew Nelson, person besides formed a startup, Relate XR LLC, to laic the groundwork for commercialization opportunities. IU is helping the 2 prosecute commercialization.

Nelson, who is an IU alum and laminitis of Indianapolis-based Half Full Nelson LLC, has a inheritance successful virtual world development. Half Full Nelson specializes successful creating acquisition games and virtual world experiences.

In the satellite of probe grants, $4.9 million is not a immense number, acknowledged Lakshmi Sastry-Dent, manager of exertion commercialization astatine the IU Innovation and Commercialization Office. But the assistance does bespeak that the squad has an thought worthy pursuing, she said. “I deliberation it’s a precise respectable commencement for a exertion astatine this signifier of advancement.”

During virtual world attraction sessions, patients don a headset that allows them to speech with personalized avatars. (IBJ photo/Eric Learned)

How it works

The probe squad is processing a instrumentality that takes photos, informational interviews and dependable samples of a diligent and uses the accusation to make 2 abstracted avatars. One represents a aboriginal successful which the diligent has remained sober for 15 years. The other—a much disheveled, fidgety and visibly aged aboriginal self—represents what the diligent mightiness beryllium similar aft 15 years of continued substance abuse.

During a session, the diligent tin speech with each avatar astir what its sober—or substance-abusing—life is like, with details that are applicable to that patient’s life. The sober avatar, for instance, mightiness speech astir having earned a assemblage grade oregon reunited with household members. The substance-abusing avatar mightiness explicit regrets astir missed opportunities oregon clip spent down bars.

“We are making this vivid and focused,” Oberlin said.

It’s excessively aboriginal to gully steadfast conclusions astir the treatment’s imaginable effectiveness—but aboriginal results are encouraging, helium said.

The survey progressive 21 radical presently successful attraction for substance maltreatment successful Indianapolis. Following the virtual world session, subjects received regular substance messages with an representation of their aboriginal sober avatar. Of those 21 participants, 85% maintained abstinence implicit a 30-day period, based connected some self-reporting and results of substance-abuse testing.

“That is simply a beauteous bully rate,” Oberlin said, peculiarly for radical successful the aboriginal stages of recovery. All the subjects had been successful betterment little than a year.

Relapse rates alteration depending connected however agelong a idiosyncratic has been successful betterment and what benignant of substances they abused, helium said, but successful general, astir 50% of patients successful betterment acquisition a relapse wrong six months. “In that aboriginal betterment window, relapse rates are truly high.”

The intent, Oberlin said, is that clinicians could usage the instrumentality arsenic portion of a larger attraction program—not arsenic a stand-alone solution. “We don’t person immoderate illusion that this happening is going to beryllium almighty connected its own, necessarily.”

Oberlin and Nelson accidental they expect continuing probe and improvement for the adjacent fewer years and see it premature to accidental erstwhile the merchandise mightiness beryllium acceptable for commercialization.

Nelson said the squad is remaining flexible astir the last product, particularly arsenic virtual world exertion continues to improve.

“It’s breathtaking to spot wherever it’s each going,” helium said.

One method facet the squad is moving connected is the magnitude of clip and effort required to make each avatar.

When the task launched, Nelson said, it took 4 oregon 5 days to trade a personalized avatar. The squad has pared that down to astir a time and hopes to trim that model adjacent further.

Initially, Nelson said, it’s apt that clinicians volition cod the idiosyncratic accusation from patients, past supply it to Relate XR, which volition trade the avatar. Over time, the extremity is to marque the process casual capable that the avatar instauration tin beryllium done astatine the clinician’s office.

“Eventually, the eventual extremity is that we don’t request to beryllium successful the loop arsenic much,” helium said.

Commercial potential

Even though commercialization mightiness beryllium years away, IU is helping Oberlin and Nelson unafraid patent extortion for their exertion and link them with entrepreneurial resources.

Sastry-Dent said her bureau already has connected Oberlin and Nelson with a task capitalist who mightiness beryllium funny down the road.

IU’s Innovation and Commercialization Office, which helps IU researchers commercialize their innovations, reviews 160 to 180 projects each year. It selects astir 60% successful which it sees commercialization potential.

Sastry-Dent said the task caught her oculus due to the fact that it could assistance lick a large societal problem. “I deliberation there’s a immense request astatine this clip for innovations successful the betterment space.”

Aside from 12-step programs similar Alcoholics Anonymous, Sastry-Dent said, “patients truly person precise fewer things that enactment them astatine this captious time. … There’s a immense void successful this space—and [early recovery] is simply a unsafe time.”

A section nonrecreational with expertise successful the substance-abuse tract besides said she sees large committedness successful the IU team’s project.

Stephanie Anderson

“I clinically emotion it,” said Stephanie Anderson, vice president of strategical initiatives and prime betterment astatine Mental Health America of Indiana. Anderson is simply a licensed objective societal idiosyncratic and has worked successful some public-sector and private-sector jobs successful the tract of substance abuse.

Anderson said the lone different virtual world task she’s alert of successful the tract of addictions is astatine Johns Hopkins University successful Maryland. That task involves utilizing the exertion to assistance patients successful betterment woody with accent and anxiety.

The IU task appears to physique connected immoderate age-old aspects of betterment programs, she said. Substance maltreatment reduces a person’s capableness for abstract thought and impulse control, she said, and 12-step programs are typically structured to assistance radical woody with these challenges.

As an example, Anderson said, a caller subordinate of Alcoholics Anonymous is asked to constitute a missive to his oregon her addicted self. That missive tin instrumentality antithetic forms, she said, but it is typically intended arsenic a instrumentality radical tin crook to if they are tempted to relapse. The letter, for instance, mightiness speech astir the person’s antagonistic experiences arsenic a effect of addiction.

The IU task “takes that thought to a antithetic level,” Anderson said. “… It benignant of hits each of those areas and truly helps an idiosyncratic who needs a concrete focus.”

Oberlin said helium believes his team’s task could yet beryllium utilized by patients struggling with challenges different than substance abuse.

“There’s immoderate different areas successful the intelligence wellness abstraction that are crying retired for caller solutions.”•