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Market Intel: Virtual Reality: The New Game In Mental Health Care To Improve Outcomes

 
• By Marion Webb

Virtual reality is seeing an upsurge in use by mental health practitioners for treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, panic disorders and anxiety in a safe and controlled manner. With the advent of affordable VR headsets and technological advances, companies and researchers worldwide are seizing on the opportunity to bring such techniques as VR exposure therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy to telemedicine, specialty clinics and directly to consumers to improve outcomes and better lives.

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A growing number of researchers and companies worldwide are exploring the power of virtual reality (VR) and gaming technologies for developing innovative solutions to help clinicians diagnose, treat and manage some of the most challenging behavioral conditions. Researchers believe that the use of VR technologies is rising for health care applications, fueled largely by technological innovations, such as the Oculus Rift headset, which are making VR therapies more affordable. This article takes a closer look at how VR is being used for exposure therapy at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to help soldiers recover from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), for cognitive behavioral therapy at Akili Interactive Labs Inc., which plans to file for US FDA approval for its Project: Echo to treat pediatric attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and by researchers in the Netherlands to prevent relapse in patients recovering from mental illness. We'll also address limiters and growth opportunities and other projects in the works in this trending space.

One of the most promising and widely used VR technologies today is an interactive VR-based exposure therapy tool to assess and address PTSD in soldiers, which was developed at the...

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• By Marion Webb

Medtech Insight spoke with Hubert Martens, CEO of Netherlands-based neuromodulation company Salvia Bioelectronics, about the company’s innovative implant for treating chronic migraines, ongoing clinical trials and plans for US clinical trials and commercialization.

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Axoft Starts Commercializing Soft BCI-Enabling Materials For R&D Use, Aims To Rewrite BCI Playbook

 
• By Marion Webb

After publishing encouraging results from first-in-human trials of its brain-computer interface, Axoft announced plans to sell its BCI-enabling material Fleuron to researchers and private organizations for R&D use. The company sees this as a revenue stream and feedback loop to refine its BCI platform designed for safer, longer-lasting brain implants.

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Bone Surgery Startup Surgify Medical Raises $7.9m

 
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Surgify Medical’s selective drill tip, Surgify Halo, is “an obvious choice for surgeons,” said Boris Hofmann, head of ZEISS Ventures and lead investor in the company’s series A funding round.

German Bionic Launches ‘Strongest Exoskeleton To Date’

 
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German Bionic’s new exoskeleton Exia helps healthcare practitioners, nurses, and other caregivers to lift and move patients by supporting muscle movement and reducing the risk of injury.

Medtronic To Spin Out Diabetes Unit As New Products Solidify Turn-Around Story

 
• By Shubham Singh

Medtronic’s diabetes spin-out – a process likely to run up to 18 months and involve 20% IPO followed by a split-off for Medtronic shareholders – will allow firm to focus on higher-margin devices.