XR Therapeutics: New VR platform for accessible treatment of phobias and anxiety

**XR Therapeutics是一家初创公司，从纽卡斯尔大学剥离出来，基于9年多的临床和学术研究。我们的服务结合了传统的认知行为疗法（CBT）和渐进暴露疗法来治疗恐惧症和情境焦虑。我们的解决方案是在完全沉浸式的环境中使用VR（虚拟现实）技术交付的。当我们与临床医生和最终用户一起根据接受者的需求定制场景时，治疗师可以通过平板电脑实时调整独特的治疗方法。在病人观察到明显的效果之前，对一个人进行传统的CBT治疗可能需要12到20次。我们的治疗方法可以在两周内缩短到4个疗程，而在治疗恐惧症时，只需一个疗程就可以实现。XR Therapeutics正在商业化提供VR支持的疗法。这意味着我们已经与私人健康保险公司、治疗师和主要的NHS信托基金建立了商业关系，为我们提供了一个明确的市场扩展解决方案。这是一个为期18个月的项目，我们将利用收到的资金，通过一个与设备无关的平台，使我们的干预能够远程访问。我们将通过开发我们已经证明的治疗模式来实现这一点，该模式适用于耳机和其他设备，在Metaverse设置中，即使治疗师和患者位于不同的地理位置，也可以实现他们之间的互动。我们还将开发工具，以支持使用AR资产进行干预后持续症状管理的患者。**迄今为止的工作：**我们的平台最初专注于支持自闭症成人和患有恐惧症的儿童。之前Innovate UK的两批支持使我们能够建立分拆，并将我们的创新扩展到更广泛的神经典型成年人市场。我们现在通过与NHS信托、私人治疗和私人保险公司的商业关系，成功地提供VR疗法。**需求：**受新冠疫情影响，官方心理健康等候名单增加了一倍，达到160万人。然而，英国国民健康服务体系估计，由于缺乏能力，800万本来可以从心理健康服务中受益的人无法获得这些服务（英国国民健康服务体系，2021年）。这意味着人们要等上9个月才能开始治疗。我们通过提供更有效的解决方案来支持医疗保健提供者，患者只需等待长达2周的时间，并且可以在2-4周内完成4个疗程。

**Public description**XR Therapeutics is a start-up company, spun out of Newcastle University which has been based on over 9 years of clinical and academic research. Our service combines traditional CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) with gradual exposure therapy to treat phobias and situation specific anxiety. Our solution is delivered using VR (Virtual Reality) technology within a fully immersive environment. The unique treatment can be adapted by the therapist in real time via a tablet, as we work alongside clinicians and end users to tailor scenes based on the needs of the recipient. Administering traditional CBT to an individual can take anywhere between 12 to 20 sessions before the patient observes noticeable impact. Our treatment can shorten this to 4 sessions over a 2-week period, and when treating phobias, this can be achieved in just 1 session. XR Therapeutics is commercially delivering VR supported therapies. This means that we already have established commercial relationships with private health insurers, therapists and major NHS trusts, giving us a clear route to market for an expanded solution.This is an 18-month project that will use the funding received to make our intervention remotely accessible via a device agnostic platform.We will do this by developing our already proven therapy model to be suitable for delivery on headsets and other devices, within Metaverse settings, enabling interaction between therapist and patient even when they are based in different geographical locations. We will also develop the tools to support patients with post-intervention ongoing symptom management using AR assets.**Work to Date:** Our platform initially focused on supporting autistic adults and children with phobias. Two tranches of previous Innovate UK support enabled us to establish the spinout and expand our innovation to the wider market of neurotypical adults. We are now successfully delivering VR therapies through commercial relationships with NHS Trusts, private treatments, and private insurers.**Need:** Official mental health waiting lists have doubled as a result of Covid to 1.6M people. However, NHS England has estimated that 8M people who would benefit from mental health services are unable to access them due to lack of capacity (NHS England, 2021). This means that people are waiting upwards of 9 months to begin treatment. We use our intervention to support healthcare providers by supplying a more efficient solution that patients only have to wait up to 2 weeks for and can be completed within 2-4 weeks through 4 sessions.