OCD house - BrainVR

Project Goals

The aim of this project is to create a virtual reality (VR) application for people with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which is characterized by the presence of compulsive thoughts (obsessions) and compulsive behaviors (compulsions) that are performed to reduce anxiety. For example, a patient with OCD may have a fear of contracting a certain disease, to which he or she responds with excessive hygiene.

In particular, our application should serve as an addition to classical cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). It uses the principle of VR exposure therapy (VRET), during which OCD patients are repeatedly and intentionally confronted with stimuli related to their illness. These elements correspond to the different dimensions of OCD symptoms (e.g., contamination fears, controlling compulsions, asymmetrical object arrangement, etc.). Appropriate stimuli for a particular patient are identified in the first session as the patient navigates through the virtual family home environment. In subsequent sessions, patients are exposed to situations already feared according to their individual symptomatology and are prevented (or delayed) from performing compulsions. The house also contains stimuli for patients with hoarding disorder, who are guided to throw things away within the virtual house.

VRET therapy serves mainly as a therapeutic aid in preparing the client for exposures later performed in real world settings and situations.

The project was launched with the financial support of a grant „PharmaBrain“ č. CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_025/0007444 and the ongoing validation study is funded by the GAMA programme of the Czech Technology Agency within the project Braintech TP01010062 (subproject 04 - OCD house). The randomized study of the project is currently being initiated and is funded by the Agency for Health Research of the Czech Republic under the Ministry of Health project No. NU23-04-00402. Testing in clinical practice conditions is being carried out in collaboration with external therapists within the project of the Central Bohemian Innovation Centre. SIC s reg. číslem – SIC/04-13/2023

Sample VR scenarios

Contamination

For people with fear of contamination, the space is equipped with stimuli simulating dirt, mould, blood, soiling of hands and other objects and spaces. It is also possible to work with hand washing and washing contaminated objects. According to individual needs, it is possible to adjust the scenario and increase its difficulty.

Control

For people who over-control, the following stimuli are in the virtual home environment: gas stove, electrical equipment, outlets, cleaning products, open fireplace, alarm, locking doors, syringes, and more.

Symmetry

Designed for people with a heightened need for symmetry and anxiety about clutter and untidy, asymmetrically arranged environments, the main elements of the exposition scenario are the paintings on the walls, the dishes on the kitchen counter, the dining table with tablecloth and placemats. These stimuli may already be skewed/disordered in the script when the exposure begins, or the individual works with skewing them and creating disorder.

Accumulation

For people dealing with excessive hoarding of objects, bags and boxes containing a variety of objects are available in the virtual house space. The boxes can be opened and filled and closed again and carried to the container. The container can also be taken out. The boxes are located in the kitchen, bedroom and garage area. In the exposition scenario we can work with a multitude of boxes as well as their handling, opening and carrying out of the house.