Today's Practice: Changing the Business of Medicine National Edition Q1 2018 | Page 19

Virtual Reality
Ilya Druzhnikov
Stress and Anxiety Disorders
Ever since researchers at Georgia Tech first
pioneered the use of virtual reality as an effec-
tive therapy for veterans who had undergone
previous unsuccessful treatments for
post-traumatic stress disorder in 1997, VR
has continued to evolve as one of the most
effective means to help patients from all
walks of life suffering from PTSD. In
fact, one in three people who experi-
ence a traumatic event – be it a car
accident, robbery, natural disaster
or battlefield incident - will suffer
from PTSD, a condition best
treated through exposure
therapy. Virtual reality can
recreate the situation in
which the traumatic
event occurred, allow-
ing the patient to
“re - e x p e r i e n c e”
and process it
while in a safe
space.
TODAY’S PRA C T I C E: C HA NGI NG T HE BUS I NES S OF M EDI CINE
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