Virtual reality application to aid self-management of people awaiting treatment for mental health conditions/symptoms [Auxilium]

2021年，等待社区精神卫生保健的人数达到120万，NHS未能实现几个目标。英国国民健康服务体系的数据发现，2021-22年底等待心理健康随访预约或学习障碍服务的人数从2021年10月底的108万增加到2021年10月底。该服务也未能实现让160万患者接受“谈话治疗”服务（也称为IAPT）的目标，该服务旨在治疗轻度至中度抑郁症患者（去年只有120万患者开始接受治疗）。这些等候名单增加了患者的孤独感和挫落感，令人震惊的是，有25%的心理健康等候名单患者由于对该系统感到沮丧而企图自杀。SyncVR Medical UK Ltd（以下简称SyncVR）旨在通过扩展现实（XR）改善医疗保健，包括虚拟现实（VR）和增强现实（AR），以其专有的XR医疗保健平台为基础，该平台使公司能够交付自己的应用程序并托管第三方（类似于Netflix）。Sync-VR已经创建了几个成功的专注于正念的应用程序，目前在欧洲100多家医院使用，其中包括10家NHS信托基金，包括一家精神健康信托基金，帮助患者减少疼痛、焦虑和药物。通过这个项目，SyncVR和南伦敦和莫兹利NHS信托（SLAM）将创建世界上第一个情绪管理虚拟应用程序（名为Auxilium），用于虚拟现实（VR）耳机，以支持等待心理健康护理的高风险患者。Auxilium将是世界上第一个以正念和辩证行为疗法（DBT）元素为基础的VR应用程序，这些元素之前已被证明对处于危机和情绪不稳定的患者有效。Auxilium将超越其他现有的解决方案，使用户能够在放松和沉浸式的环境中练习情绪管理策略。该应用程序将教患者有用的应对和情绪管理技能，以便在等待治疗期间管理自己的情绪。这也将帮助他们在遇到治疗时感到更有准备，并改善他们的整体医疗保健体验。此外，Auxilium将有助于减轻心理健康问题带来的巨大经济负担，目前英国经济每年花费约1180亿英镑（约占GDP的5%）。尖端的虚拟现实应用程序将使精神疾病患者能够更好地自我管理自己的病情，从而减少病假，减少因缺勤造成的生产力损失，并减少全球医疗保健系统的成本。

In 2021, the number of people waiting for community mental health care reached 1.2m, with the NHS missing several targets. NHS England data found the figure for those waiting for a mental health follow-up appointment or learning disability service at the end of 2021-22 had increased from 1.08m at the end of October 2021\. The service also failed to meet its goal of getting 1.6m patients into "talking therapy" services, also called IAPT, which are aimed at treating people with mild to moderate depression (only 1.2m started sessions last year). These waiting lists enhance the sense of loneliness and frustration felt by patients, with an alarming 25% of mental health waiting list patients attempting suicide due to their frustration with the system.SyncVR Medical UK Ltd (hereafter SyncVR) aims to improve healthcare with extended reality (XR) including virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), underpinned by its proprietary XR healthcare platform, which enables the company to deliver its own applications and host third parties (similar to Netflix). Sync-VR has created several successful mindfulness focused applications which are currently being used in over 100 hospitals across Europe, including 10 NHS trusts, including a mental health trust, helping patients to decrease pain, anxiety, and medication.Through this project, SyncVR and South London & Maudsley NHS Trust (SLAM) will create the world's first mood management virtual application (named Auxilium) to be used on virtual reality (VR) headsets for supporting high risk patients waiting for mental health care. Auxilium will be the world's first VR application underpinned with mindfulness and dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT) elements, which have previously been shown to be effective for patients in crisis and suffering from mood instabilities.Auxilium will go beyond other existing solutions by enabling users to practice mood management strategies in a relaxing and immersive environment. The application will teach patients useful coping and mood management skills to manage their emotions while they wait for therapy. It will also help them feel more prepared for therapy when they encounter it and improve their overall healthcare experience.Furthermore, Auxilium will help reduce the enormous economic burden presented by mental health problems, which currently cost the UK economy ~£118bn annually (~5% GDP). The cutting-edge VR application will enable mental health patients to better self-manage their condition, in turn reducing sick days, loss of productivity due to absenteeism, and costs to the healthcare systems worldwide.