With funding from the Naval Research Office, Virtually Better designed "Virtual Iraq" to support exposure therapy of anxiety disorders resulting from the high-stress environment. The treatment involves exposing the patient to a virtual environment containing the feared situation rather than taking the patient into the actual environment or having the patient imagine the stimulus. The virtual environment is controlled by the therapist through a computer keyboard ensuring full control of the exposure to the programmed situations. Virtual reality exposure treatment allows the therapist to manipulate situations to best suit the individual patient during a standard therapy hour (usually 45-50 minutes) and within the confines of the therapist's office.
Virtually Better chose to include eMagin's Z800 3DVisor as the medium for delivering the VR exposure. "It delivered the level of immersion we needed for successful treatments," said Ken Graaf, chief executive officer, Virtually Better. "The combination of the OLED displays delivering 3D stereovision and the wide field of view were a natural fit for the simulations we have been developing." Besides "Virtual Iraq," Virtually Better applications currently include Virtual Airplane, Virtual Audiences, Virtual Heights, Virtual Storm, and Virtual Vietnam. Built on the eMagin's proven OLED technology base, the Z800 3DVisor provides full-color, 360-degree, 3D stereovision through its state-of-the-art head tracking and SVGA 3D OLED microdisplays. With stereo earbuds and a noise-canceling microphone, the Visor enables group training scenarios as well as individual-based training and therapy sessions.
