Award Abstract # 1744114
I-Corps: Augmented reality based technologies in treating specific phobia

NSF Org: TI
Translational Impacts
Recipient: BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE
Initial Amendment Date: July 12, 2017
Latest Amendment Date: July 12, 2017
Award Number: 1744114
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Andre Marshall
TI
 Translational Impacts
TIP
 Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships
Start Date: July 1, 2017
End Date: January 31, 2019 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $50,000.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $50,000.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2017 = $50,000.00
History of Investigator:
  • Zhandong Liu (Principal Investigator)
    zhandonl@bcm.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: Baylor College of Medicine
1 BAYLOR PLZ
HOUSTON
TX  US  77030-3411
(713)798-1297
Sponsor Congressional District: 09
Primary Place of Performance: Texas Children's Hospital
6621 Fannin Street
Houston
TX  US  77030-3410
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
09
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): FXKMA43NTV21
Parent UEI: FXKMA43NTV21
NSF Program(s): I-Corps
Primary Program Source: 01001718DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT
Program Reference Code(s):
Program Element Code(s): 802300
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.084

ABSTRACT

The broader impacts and commercial potential of this I-Corps project is the progress toward developing a treatment delivery system for individuals with debilitating fears. The system, based on augmented reality and virtual reality, addresses significant limitations of other treatment modalities. Approximately 9% of adults in the United States experience a clinically significant phobia that causes impairments in functioning at high cost to the individual and society. Despite the functional impairment caused by the debilitating fears characteristic of Specific Phobia, nearly 2/3rds of individuals do not seek treatment likely due to the aversive qualities of the most effective treatment, exposure therapy. Untreated, phobias can have significant economic impact on society. Therefore, the technology in this project has broader impacts to society by improving access to treatment through delivery through a more acceptable modality. Customers are expected to be licensed mental health practitioners and the product will allow them to expose their patients to computer generated phobic stimuli via an augmented reality (AR) headset. The technology will allow clinicians to adopt a therapy delivery system that is more acceptable to clients, while reducing clinician time and overall treatment costs.

This I-Corps project will involve conducting customer discovery interviews to test product-market fit for the development of an augmented reality (AR) platform that allows people to overcome debilitating fears characteristic of Specific Phobia. The project is based on research indicating that only a minority of individuals with this highly treatable disorder obtain intervention services because typically-delivered exposure therapy has highly aversive qualities. Approximately 1 in 4 patients reject the treatment when it is introduced. However, research also indicates that the same treatment delivered in virtual reality (VR) environments is a highly preferred therapy modality with a low rejection rate (3%). Unfortunately, this approach is not widely adopted by therapists because the time to create a complete VR environment with the fear stimulus is costly, resulting in poor product-market fit. With the rapid development of AR-based technology and the low-cost of rendering AR environments relative to VR environments, this I-Corps project offers the benefits of VR-assisted therapy (lower patient rejection rates/higher patient preference) while avoiding the barriers to clinician adoption. This technology is expected to increase patient access to and engagement in treatment, while simultaneously reducing clinician time and costs spent preparing for individual exposure tasks.

PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT

Disclaimer

This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.

As part of the grant activities, the four project members attended an intensive entrepreneurial immersion course and engaged in over 115 customer discovery interviews. Customer discovery interviews took place across the US with key decision-makers in mental health (psychology training directors, hospital passed and private behavioral health providers, graduate students) and academic medicine (pediatrician, head of psychology at major hospitals) and parents. The team also spoke with competitors and representatives in adjacent industries. As part of the experience, the team received critical feedback from i-Corps faculty to determine the readiness and potential for commercialization of the project technology.
The following customer segments were explored: Doctoral-level psychologists working in academic medical settings, private practice settings, and community mental health settings.  Licensed professional counselors working in private practice settings were also explored as a customer segment. Medical doctors working in academic medical settings focusing on behavioral health were also targeted.
The customer discovery interviews provided information about product-market fit, customer channels and relationships, and other information needed to form a business canvas and identify a pathway to commercialization. Additionally, the interviews assisted with the identification of the need for key industry partnerships. Finally, interviews provided information about the existing market landscape and market potential of the technology, including pricing strategies and structure.


Last Modified: 05/06/2019
Modified by: Zhandong Liu

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