Medical Virtual Reality

The Medical Virtual Reality group conducts research on the design, development, and evaluation of virtual and augmented reality systems targeting the areas of clinical assessment, treatment and rehabilitation. This work has spanned the domains of psychological, cognitive and motor functioning in both healthy and clinical populations.

In spite of the diversity of these clinical R&D areas, the common thread that drives all of the lab’s work with digital technologies involves the study of how interactive and immersive VR/AR simulations can be usefully applied to address human healthcare needs beyond what is possible with traditional tools and methods.

In clinical terms, when someone cannot rid themselves of the trauma, it’s called ‘Failure of Extinction” because the potency of the event, the stimuli, has continued to haunt them. BRAVEMIND doesn’t remove the memory, but it does assist in repairing damage to neural networks. We tell people upfront, we’re not here to remove your memories of war. This has nothing to do with courage, human will, or character, it’s about brain function. BRAVEMIND, in clinical trials, has ameliorated PTSD’s effects and symptoms, allowing these soldiers to rebuild their lives. It’s about getting in the trenches and confronting and reprocessing those difficult emotional memories.

 Dr. Albert “Skip” Rizzo, Director, Medical Virtual Reality, USC Institute for Creative Technologies