Virtual solutions to real problems - The Star Online

Imagine you are flying connected a level erstwhile the entity grows dark, the upwind becomes progressively turbulent, the level starts to shake, and your spot rattles violently.

While it would beryllium distressing for anyone, it could beryllium excessively overmuch to grip for idiosyncratic with a fearfulness of flying.

However, putting them successful specified a concern nether the supervision of a specializer whitethorn assistance them flooded their phobias.

Tanjina Ashraf Khan, CEO and laminitis of MentCouch, a science centre successful Kuala Lumpur, calls it vulnerability therapy and recommends it for those who privation to flooded their utmost consciousness of fearfulness implicit an entity oregon situation.

She says that arsenic they enactment with a therapist to larn however to woody with their anxiety, they volition beryllium gradually exposed to their phobias.

“What we privation to spot during the sessions is the idiosyncratic processing little anxiousness toward their fears. We commencement with a standard of 1 to 10.

“At the beginning, they whitethorn complaint their anxiousness level arsenic nine. When it gets to a six, that is progress,” she shares.

However, she says vulnerability therapies are hard to behaviour physically. For example, if a lawsuit has a fearfulness of snakes oregon cockroaches, it’s not realistic to bring those elements into the room.

Enacting definite scenarios, specified arsenic getting connected a plane, could besides beryllium costly.

“It could besides beryllium unsafe for the lawsuit if they endure from terrible panic attacks connected the plane. We whitethorn person to petition an exigency landing,” MentCouch managing manager Justin Kung adds.

This was the impetus for utilizing virtual world – conscionable by putting connected a VR headset, a idiosyncratic tin beryllium “transported” to a antithetic spot oregon concern safely.

“Most importantly, we tin guarantee them that they are successful control,” Tanjina says.

She explains that clients typically walk up to 30 minutes successful VR portion being monitored connected a machine by a trained therapist.

Kung says: “We tin pass with them by giving ocular commands. This way, they tin enactment immersed successful the situation without excessively overmuch extracurricular interference.

“MentCouch counsellor Syahirah Husna says: “We volition typically instrumentality a interruption for 10 minutes and measure their anxiousness level and speech astir relaxation techniques specified arsenic heavy breathing.

“When they are acceptable to continue, they tin practise the techniques they’ve learned successful their chosen environment.”

Apart from overcoming phobias, MentCouch is utilizing VR arsenic portion of its therapy for accent relief, successful which an idiosyncratic would beryllium guided done techniques similar musculus relaxation successful a soothing virtual situation similar a formation oregon forest.

“Some radical person occupation concentrating during therapy, arsenic they volition beryllium stressed reasoning astir enactment oregon what the postulation volition beryllium similar erstwhile it’s clip to spell home,” she says, adding that specified sessions volition assistance them go much mindful and calm.

Kung agrees, saying, “They consciousness that with VR, little effort is required to assistance them relax.”

Raising the bar

Over astatine Taman Desa successful KL, chartered physiotherapist Lian Yun-Perng is utilizing VR arsenic portion of physiotherapy treatments, describing the virtual satellite arsenic a “form of distraction from pain”.

“We urge this specifically for radical recovering from a changeable oregon those who whitethorn beryllium surviving with chronic pain.

“They whitethorn find it hard to assistance an entity owed to their condition, truthful we assistance them execute upper-limb question by practising utilizing VR,” says Lian, who owns and operates Ace Physiotherapy.

Lian starts a league by securing the headset for the diligent and adjusting the absorption truthful they tin spot clearly. Patients are not required to locomotion and volition mostly beryllium sitting down.

“I volition beryllium guiding them passim the process arsenic I tin presumption what they are seeing connected my smartphone.

“The sensors volition way their hands and they volition beryllium capable to execute movements specified arsenic picking up an entity similar a chromatic oregon throwing a shot successful the virtual environment,” helium says.

They whitethorn besides beryllium tasked with completing a artifact puzzle. It starts disconnected with 3 blocks, with the fig of blocks and complexity expanding arsenic the diligent progresses.

Each VR league typically lasts astir 10 to 15 minutes and aft undergoing grooming for 3 months, Lian volition measurement patients’ advancement by checking their musculus power.

“For severely debilitated patients, we anticipation to spot improvements, including being capable to execute movements specified arsenic making a fist, moving their fingers oregon lifting their wrist,” helium says.

Lian archetypal integrated VR arsenic portion of his physiotherapy services backmost successful 2019 – portion exploring ways to amended his services, helium stumbled upon a crowdfunding run for a VR headset.

“The merchandise was geared for gaming, but I was inspired by the possibilities and started to look into however I could usage VR for rehab,” helium says.

He yet decided to spell with Oculus aft investigating respective products and uncovering apps that helium felt would beryllium suitable for his physiotherapy plan.

“The headset is airy and portable. I don’t request cables (it uses a rechargeable battery) oregon to transportation other instrumentality specified arsenic monitors.

“I tin get it acceptable successful 10 minutes by utilizing my telephone and not discarded my patient’s time,” helium says.

Lian is cautious not to present VR to patients without archetypal assessing their suitability.

“They indispensable not person conditions similar epilepsy oregon terrible equilibrium issues. If they consciousness dizzy portion utilizing VR, past the attraction volition cease,” helium says.

The feedback for incorporating VR arsenic portion of the physiotherapy attraction has been encouraging, says Lian, adding that astir patients were unfastened to it.

“They get to effort thing caller and there’s a amusive constituent to it,” helium says.

Training tech

Fun is the past happening connected the minds of workers astatine the Genting Tunnel East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) operation tract successful Bentong, Pahang, arsenic they person to beryllium connected their toes to enactment harmless and minimise risks.

“Safety is simply a precedence for everyone. It is compulsory to be information grooming owed to the vulnerability to assorted types of hazards,” says Datuk Osman Haron, the health, information and situation manager for China Communications Construction ECRL, the main contractor for the ECRL task owned by Malaysia Rail Link (MRL).

To amended and heighten information consciousness levels astatine the site, the institution said it acceptable up a VR Safety Experience Hall to let its workers to larn astir information successful a much immersive environment.

It has 2 VR information experiences, the archetypal being a VR pod that simulates the acquisition of a fast-moving vehicle.

In a demo, the pod simulated a bumpy cart thrust with choky turns and steep slopes successful a snowy upland that was made much existent by its quality to blast aerial and physically determination successful aggregate directions.

“There are trainings to simulate car crashes and falling from large heights. The experiences are meant to service arsenic reminders to workers to ever execute information checks erstwhile connected tract and to equip themselves with the required gear,” Osman adds.

The different VR work gives the idiosyncratic state of question wrong a designated area, allowing him oregon her to prime up tools and run them successful a virtual world.

Depending connected the chosen script – it’s claimed to connection up to 100 options, including 1 that was inspired by existent operation tragedies successful China – the dangers they look volition beryllium different.

Workers whitethorn find themselves operating a crane, lone for the hosting cablegram to drawback and injure others, oregon drilling successful a passageway portion lasting connected an unsteady level that would break.

After each experience, a pop-up volition amusement the actions that led to the mishap.

For example, successful the archetypal scenario, the cablegram could person snapped due to the fact that nary anterior inspection was conducted to guarantee each instrumentality was successful order, and successful the second, it could beryllium owed to workers not wearing information harnesses and the scaffolding not being built according to information standards.

“Typically, workers would person to beryllium done hour-long briefings connected information and they whitethorn not clasp each the accusation owed to the static setting.

“By experiencing what could hap if they are not alert of precautionary measures with VR, it volition beryllium a much beneficial learning experience,” Osman says.

Untapped uses

Osman admits, however, that VR can’t regenerate each aspects of information training, arsenic applicable acquisition is inactive an important aspect.

For example, workers person to larn however to run machinery successful existent beingness truthful that they tin consciousness the “weight” and however objects determination successful definite upwind conditions.

“For immoderate aspects of information training, we effort to find ways to harvester it with VR, arsenic it has the vantage of helping workers afloat visualise situations,” helium says.

He adds that VR besides helps to region constraints specified arsenic the request to beryllium successful assorted locations and facilities for training.

“We’ve had issues wherever grooming could not beryllium conducted due to the fact that the trainer was not there.

“But with VR, determination is nary specified issue. We tin besides upgrade the bundle with caller experiences to support our workers updated with caller information guidelines erstwhile they determination to a caller site,” helium says.

Meanwhile, Tanjina says that with VR “moving fast”, she sees the imaginable of it being utilized for online sessions with some the therapist and diligent appearing arsenic 3D avatars.

What’s important now, she says, is to make much consciousness astir the benefits of VR and different forms of exertion successful intelligence wellness treatment.

“People were not unfastened to exertion being utilized arsenic portion of intelligence wellness attraction until the pandemic opened opportunities for radical to effort online therapy.

“The biggest hurdle is helping much radical go alert of the benefits of exertion successful definite aspects,” she says.

Lian agrees, saying that radical person to beryllium much unfastened to trying caller forms of tech for physiotherapy treatment.

He claims that robotics, specified arsenic an exoskeleton, tin beryllium incorporated into rehabilitation therapies, and that an AI-powered instrumentality is being developed to assistance changeable patients successful performing movements.

“I promote radical to deliberation extracurricular the container and not beryllium constricted to what they person learned successful university.

“Go to expos and conferences to larn astir tech advancements successful health. I would besides counsel them to look into the subject and probe down it,” helium says.

Osman adds that, successful summation to VR, the institution is relying connected exertion specified arsenic drones to show distant areas that are hard to entree by humans.

“We are intimately pursuing the improvement of exertion successful assorted fields to spot however it tin beryllium implemented.

“Technology is precise overmuch an important facet of what we do,” helium says.