The high incidence of depression and the difficulties of its elimination make it, along with stress, one of the diseases of the century. According to the estimates of the World Health Organization, in 2030 it will be the main cause of disability in the world.
Based on the data revealed by the Mental Health Strategy of the National Health System, Spain is the European country with the highest rate of depression in elderly people. This disease affects approximately 5% of the Spanish population, so combating it becomes essential.
Scientists from the University College of London, in collaboration with the ICREA (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies), take this responsibility into their hands, after embarking on an innovative project.
Using virtual reality to combat depression, this group of scientists developed a system by which the patient can visualize a child who requires his comfort, and then is encouraged by a doctor to console him. The interaction with the child generates the identification of the patient with that child who is suffering, an idyllic starting point to begin the treatment that the disease requires.
Tested in more than 15 patients, this project has shown that by identifying the virtual reality contributes to the decrease in the level of depression of the subjects participating in the experiment. Thus, virtual reality is presented as a powerful tool to combat one of the most dangerous diseases of the century.
@cervantes