Design and evaluation of a virtual reality system for avatar therapy of patients with schizophrenia paranoid

Abstract

Abstract Introduction: Misinterpretation of other people's behavior is one of the main features of schizophrenia which is called paranoid. Cognitive-behavioral therapies (CBT) have been developed for psychological therapies. Virtual reality is the simulation of a real and multidimensional environment with the help of computer, also one of the powerful tools to enhance social interactions is the use of avatars in VR. Objective: Design and evaluation of a virtual reality system based on avatar therapy for patients with schizophrenia paranoid Methods: The present study has been developed in three phases. The first phase is a systematic review. The second phase is the design of a VR using Unity software. The third phase involves evaluating the effectiveness of VR-based intervention. Patients were randomly divided into intervention and control groups. In the intervention group, patients received VR-CBT in addition to routine treatment. In the control group, patients received routine CBT. Data collection tools were PANNS and social perception. Results: The findings of the first objective of the dissertation are as follows: 7 studies were included in the study based on the inclusion criteria. The results of the second objective are that the designed scenario is the environment of a bus and 11 human avatars. The results of the third goal show that based on the analysis of data related to the difference between before and after score based on Man-Whitney test, there is a significant difference in the rate of improvement of symptoms between the intervention and control groups(P<0.05). Also, based on the mean ranking, it was found that the intervention group generally had a greater improvement in symptoms than the control group. Conclusion: Finally, VR-CBT has a greater effect on improving patients' paranoid symptoms than conventional CBT. Therefore, it is better to use VR as a tool to treat patients with schizophrenia.