'Virtual Iraq' Therapy|ABC 7 News

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'Virtual Iraq' Therapy

posted 11:27 pm Tue October 16, 2007 - Washington

tags: virtual • iraq • therapy • ptsd

Walter Reed Army Medical Center is testing a new virtual reality program as a treatment for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

The multi-sensory program, called "Virtual Iraq", immerses patients in an Iraq-like combat zone. Patients wear a headset and headphones. Using their thumbs, they can drive a Humvee in a convoy or walk through a Baghdad-like cityscape while holding a controller shaped like an M-16 rifle.

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All the while, therapists monitor the patient's heart rate, blood pressure, respiratory rate and amount of sweat. The therapists are also introduce stimuli, such as setting off the explosions the patients feel through a vibrating platform.

"We do push the envelope a little bit," said Dr. Michael Roy, a professor of Medicine at the Uniformed Services University. "We try to create some anxiety that's actually therapeutic to create in this controlled environment. The therapist is right there working through them with that."

The therapist can also shape the virtual experience by changing the weather and time of day and adding smells like like body odor, garbage and Middle Eastern spices.

"Our aim is not to cause a person more trauma, but rather to get them in a state where they can start to process emotional memories that surround a traumatic event," said Dr. Albert Rizzo, who designed Virtual Iraq.

San Diego Naval Medical Center recently ran a study with "Virtual Iraq" that had promising results. Doctors hope for the same at Walter Reed.

"We want to improve their physical and psychological health, their ability to function," said Dr. Roy. The new treatment may not be the answer for soldiers suffering from extreme cases of PTSD, but doctors hope it will help the majority of patients and enable them to remain active duty.

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