Lost in Song

Throughout history, in times of crisis humans have sung together to keep their spirits up. Lost in Song invites socially isolated people throughout the COVID-19 pandemic to experience a joyful choral immersion through 360 video, with the option of using a cardboard virtual reality visor. Through this accessible web app, participants can sing well-loved songs with one of the UK's leading choirs, Ex Cathedra.

The web app tackles loneliness and anxiety for those who need to be isolated for longer periods of time, including the 1.3 million people that Public Health England have identified as in the 'shielded' category. The need for this product is clear. According to the Office of National Statistics on April 16th, 58% of people with underlying health conditions had not left their house in the past 7 days. Almost half of people with underlying conditions reported high levels of anxiety and a quarter of the group had felt lonely.

Singing is known to help: many studies have shown that singing reduces anxiety. Singing together is powerful. It stimulates every area of the brain, releases feel-good hormones, reduces stress; it can excite and can calm. It touches our deepest emotions. It transforms individuals into a community. Singing builds confidence, shared understanding and empathy. It teaches us to express ourselves with confidence.

360 video has been proven to be able to elicit a feeling of a person's physical 'presence' -- it can simulate the feeling of being with others. Lost in Song combines the two to create a fun, joyful experience for hundreds of thousands of people.

The project will be delivered by UK leaders in cultural virtual reality, Limina Immersive. Limina have brought VR to broader audiences since 2016, making virtual reality accesible for people who probably wouldn't consider themselves 'early adopters'. Our choir partner is the world renowned Ex Cathedra, who have a 20-year track record of working with the NHS to provide patients with the powerful benefits of song. Crucially, the project will draw on the expertise of NHS Arden and Greater East Midlands CSU, who'll also deliver the project evaluation ready for phase two.

This first project phase includes testing, refinement, production, marketing, distribution, building the web app and populating it with five 360 singalongs of well-loved songs.

Our ultimate objective is to help keep isolated people's spirits up by providing an accessible way for them to experience the joy of group singing.

-EXTRA INFORMATION FOR SCOPE CHANGE-
The Lost in Song prototype has been built and is currently in its user testing phase with NHS Arden & Greater East Midlands. You can access the user testing version on www.lostinsong.com . We chose beautiful parts of British nature as the singing locations, as there are many studies that show nature imagery reduces anxiety. The inclusion of natural 360 locations has become integral to the product's development.

So far, 70% of users have experienced an uplift in their mood (from a sample size of 201). We have heard many heartwarming stories from users, for instance how Lost in Song has helped them get through a challenging week, or how it has brought back fond childhood memories and even tears of joy. A new song has been released every Tuesday, which many tell us is something they look forward to every week.

Our work so far is clearly proving that immersive 360 singing in nature is an effective mood boost tool. The subsequent plan for commercialisation will be a blend of private consumer subscriptions and NHS funded subscriptions, via their Social Prescribing framework.

NHS A&GEM are keen to continue their work in proving the technology meets the NICE's Evidence Standard for Digital Health Technologies. They also want to publish a paper with a university and submit it to a medical journal, further firming up validity.

An extension would allow us to identify how further funding can extend the beneficial impact of Lost in Song to the public and the UK economy. This work would ultimately be a catalyst; increasing the speed at which our product can get to the market.

In terms of timescale, it would put the conditions in place for Lost in Song to reach the market by autumn/winter 2021; a time when the public's mental health is likely to be worn down by COVID and its restrictions. Many epidemiologists predict that COVID will still be circulating, as a vaccine will take time to be accesible to all.

An extension for impact would allow us to further research and firm up the blended public/private business model and find the right distribution and marketing partners - in both private sector and public healthcare. It would allow the NHS to do further testing in order to comply with digital healthcare regulations & submit findings to a journal. With the right distribution partners and evidence, Lost in Song can reach millions of people very quickly, at a time when it is most needed.