Jun 11 2013
Belgian Economic Mission to the United States

Brussels, Belgium (June 11, 2013) — The Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) was selected to participate in the recent Belgian Economic Mission to the United States, organized by the Belgian Foreign Trade Agency in collaboration with the regional institutions Wallonia Foreign Trade & Investment Agency, Brussels Invest & Export, and Flanders Investment & Trade and FPS Foreign Affairs. The event, held from June 2 to June 9, 2013, was presided over by the Prince Philippe of Belgium, and consisted of 393 participants, bring together companies from various business sectors to expand their influence to the U.S. and promote trade between Belgium and the U.S.

Virtual Reality Medical Center uses simulation technologies in three main areas: 1) treating patients with stress, anxiety, and trauma, 2) training for military medical and civilian populations, and 3) enhancing medical educational programs. A Belgian corporation established in December 2006 with affiliates in the U.S. and China, VRMC principals are world leaders in applying VR technology in combination with physiological monitoring and feedback fro training, therapy, and emerging applications. We are also focused on developing a comprehensive protocol to address an array of needs for military personnel and civilian first responders as well as emerging technologies for various security and intelligence operations. Having been involved in R&D projects in Europe, Asia, and the U.S. for the past 25 years, we have won over 50 competitive government contracts and look now towards marketing the developed products and protocols.

 

Representing VRMC on the mission were Prof. Dr. Brenda Wiederhold, President, and Prof. Dr. Mark Wiederhold, Director of Clinical Research.

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Oct 19 2012
Experts say fear of flying is treatable

By Associated Press

An excerpt from the article:

At the Virtual Reality Medical Center, which has offices in San Diego and Brussels and has treated more than 1,000 people in 15 years, patients don headsets and sensors and are immersed in a 360-degree, three-dimensional visual and auditory computer simulation of air travel, from packing to security to boarding and taking flight. The software simulates night or day, various weather conditions and turbulence. The immersion is paired with sensors that measure breathing, heart and perspiration rates so patients can learn to recognize and handle symptoms of anxiety. The treatment costs about $2,000 and takes eight to 10 sessions.

Physician Mark Wiederhold, who runs Virtual Reality with his wife, Brenda, says for most people the anxiety will never completely vanish, “but you can learn to cope with it.”

 

For full article, click here.

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Apr 17 2003
Driving Along a Virtual Road to Recovery

By Abby Ellin

STEPHANIE WALL is from California, so driving is practically part of her DNA. It was a given that one day she would slide behind the wheel and zoom off; that’s what everybody did.

But in August 1999, just two days before she started college, a teenager plowed into her sport utility vehicle on a freeway in Denver. Ms. Wall ended up in intensive care. Her father, a passenger, was killed.

She wanted no more to do with driving, but she knew she would have to get back on the road. ”I didn’t want to freak out and get into another accident,” said Ms. Wall, now 21. A psychologist referred her to Brenda K. Wiederhold, a clinical psychologist and the executive director of the Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego, where Ms. Wall lives.

With virtual reality, ”you can have an accident and not get hurt,” Dr. Wiederhold said. ”People who are afraid of the freeway say, ‘Oh my God, this is dangerous.’ I get them to stop the thought and think instead, ‘Oh, I’m sweating and in control.”’

Over the last decade, psychologists have been using virtual-reality therapy — computerized simulation of the feared situation — to treat such phobias and anxieties as fear of heights, public speaking, spiders, flying, even combat. But Dr. Wiederhold is one of the first to use it for people who are afraid of driving.

For full article, click here.

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