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Virtual reality programs to help treat phobias

Engineering students at Santa Clara University in California have developed a high-tech way of helping people with phobias like fear of heights
Virtual reality helps ease phobias 01:53

Virtual reality is becoming more than just a domain for games -- it could be the next level of treatment tools for medicine.

Two engineering students at Santa Clara University in California came up with their own VR application to help therapists treat people with phobias.

Using the Oculus Rift headset, which will retail for about $350, and their ingenuity, Paul Thurston and Bryce Mariano developed an environment that simulates walking around on building roofs and other precarious places to help people who are afraid of heights..

"Having equipment that you can keep right in your office, where you can expose them to the feared object or situation, but not have to go anywhere," Kieran Sullivan, the faculty advisor on the project and SCU Psychology Department Chair, told reporter Kiet Do of CBS San Francisco. "I think could be really exciting for treating phobias."

Sullivan says a powerful and affordable therapeutic application of virtual reality could change a lot of lives. She suggested the students add a feature where a therapist could adjust the height in real time.

"The end goal would be to have a library of simulations that a therapist could scroll through and choose," Mariano said.

Numerous companies are developing portable VR systems and industries like defense and healthcare are developing new applications to help with training and practice. The newer systems aim to be smoother, less nausea-inducing for users.

Cheaper materials, smaller goggles, better graphics and free, open-source materials are making it easier for students to experiment with programs, as well.

The VR industry is still defining itself, and is currently worth less than $10 billion overall, according to Digi-capital. But the broader industry is poised for a boom that could balloon to a worth of about $150 billion dollars in the next 5 years.

"You could very easily put this camera on the moon," Thurston said. "You can put it underwater. You can do pretty much anything with it."

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