Front Line Access to Multi-sensory E-PTSD (FLAME) Digital Therapies to improve mental health

There is a high emotional cost of treating multiple severely ill patients, triaging those to save, whilst working under severe resource constraints. Health care workers are engaged in a prolonged battle against a deadly, highly contagious illness with no known cure. Following the 2003 SARS outbreak, many health care workers reported high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, which had long-term psychological implications. Similarly, frontline healthcare workers directly involved in care of patients with COVID-19 are at risk of developing mental health symptoms including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).?

PTSD is caused by witnessing or experiencing actual or threatened death, serious injury or violence. It causes tremendous suffering, is difficult to treat under normal circumstances, and is even more difficult to treat under pandemic situations. A cross-sectional research study published in March 2020 found that of 1257 health care workers managing Covid-19 in 34 hospitals, 50.4% reported symptoms of depression, 44.6% symptoms of anxiety, 34% insomnia, and 71.5% reported distress.?

Past research shows that over a **third** of front line responders experience symptoms of PTSD. It affects the individual (depression), their family (strained relationships), their colleagues (loss of effectiveness), the hospital (reduced resources) and has an economic cost.

Employers have an obligation to protect their employees from known threats to their physical and mental well being. Sadly, diagnostic practices for mental illnesses are poorly implemented and patient stratification is almost non- existent in the NHS. NHS-approved therapies for PTSD include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and more recently Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). These are difficult to deliver and suboptimal via telemedicine, which reinforces the importance of prevention

Studies have supported the use of virtual reality for anxiety disorders including PTSD as it allows both the assessment of fear responses, and resilience training. However, traditionally-delivered VR therapy needs a therapist in the room to monitor the patient and ensure that there do not become overwhelmed.?

As pandemic circumstances preclude therapists from travelling to hospitals, our EmteqVR solution provides the best of both worlds: real-time sensing of emotional responses to negate the need for a therapist to be in the same room, and a range of graded life-like exposures without the need to travel. For this project, our app will allow earlier warning of when users are experiencing stress. Later this will be integrated into our VR therapy platform.