In May, the Pennsylvania Compensation Rating Bureau published an article on virtual reality (VR) as a new, effective treatment for Post-Traumatic Stress Injuries (PTSI). As Pennsylvania expands workers’ compensation coverage to include PTSI for first responders, a powerful convergence of technology and care is emerging, led by innovators like Dan O’Brien, President Americas at HTC VIVE. O’Brien is spearheading a movement to integrate VR into workplace safety training and therapeutic recovery, unlocking new pathways for healing and resilience. This HealthySimulation.com article will highlight how HTC VIVE has expanded the impact of their headsets to growing groups of people who can benefit from these virtual reality therapies.
HTC VIVE’s enterprise VR headsets, originally built with consumers in mind, now help healthcare providers, insurers, and employers create immersive solutions for training, emotional wellness, and trauma recovery. Dan O’Brien says, “PTSI therapy is an area where we’re starting to see a big push. Our partners found that VR can unlock pathways in the brain to facilitate quicker recovery, so people can rejoin the workforce and get back to their normal lives faster and easier.”
Organizations like Mynd Immersive and Neurova Labs currently use HTC VIVE headsets in therapeutic settings, with positive results. O’Brien notes, “Our partner Mynd Immersive ran a study with Stanford on VR for emotional health and loneliness in seniors. Seventy-nine percent (79.2%) of participants said their mood was more positive after using VR. And a study published in Nature found that VR pain treatments offer cost savings in 90% of trials.”
Mynd Immersive is the leading provider of immersive digital therapeutics for aging adults in the US, Canada, and Australia. Their platform recently expanded to 150 senior care communities across the US. It is designed for a variety of therapies that include reminiscence therapy, as well as PT, OT, and ST. PTSD therapy is also a part of Mynd Immersive’s program.
Neurova Labs’ system is designed to adapt to user feedback in real-time, while they’re wearing a VR headset. In doing so, it helps restore neurovascular coupling that was damaged in traumatic episodes, reversing the effects of PTSD and building long-term emotional resilience. The system is customizable and is not exclusive to PTSD – its ability to restore neurovascular coupling can bring performance improvements to many disciplines – from military leadership to first responders, and even corporate training.
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Workplace Safety, Workers’ Compensation, and VR
O’Brien explains, “Workplace safety and training is a huge application for VR. You can run employees through potentially harmful scenarios in VR and significantly minimize time spent and risk compared to conventional training.”
The implications for the workers’ compensation industry are significant. Improved training can lower injury rates and claim frequency. VR therapy may shorten recovery times and reduce the cost and complexity of long-tail claims. “Industries are waking up to the potential of this technology and are starting to incorporate it more broadly,” O’Brien observes.
For Pennsylvania, where the PTSI bill represents a landmark shift in supporting public safety workers, these innovations arrive at a critical moment. O’Brien sees no ceiling to what is possible: “This is just the beginning. With each generation of hardware, the opportunities expand. And as the technology becomes more accessible, we expect it to become an essential part of organizational resilience and employee care.”
HTC VIVE Headsets
The HTC VIVE headsets being used are VIVE Focus 3, VIVE Focus Vision, and VIVE XR Elite.
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The VIVE XR Elite headset is lightweight and foldable, and is worn like a pair of glasses. The headset is instantly recognizable as a glasses form factor, which makes the headset more approachable for different age ranges – including seniors – to wear.
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The VIVE Focus 3 headset shares the same technology platform as VIVE XR Elite, but in a standard VR headset form factor (like ski goggles). This is the same headset used by VR arcades worldwide and by defense agencies for training. VIVE Focus 3 is ruggedized yet comfortable, making it perfect for shared use.
The VIVE Focus Vision is HTC’s latest headset, offering an update to VIVE Focus 3 with full color passthrough and auto-IPD adjustment that seamlessly adapts to each user’s eyesight whenever they put the headset on.
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VIVE Focus Vision Headset Features
The VIVE Focus Vision headset is a standalone headset or can be used for PCVR through a wired kit. There are many features that increase the immersive experience for the learner. These features improve the experience for learners and the efficiency of the simulation program.
The Auto-Interpupillary Distance (IPD) adjuster plus built-in eye tracking gives every trainee clear visuals automatically when they put on the headset. In simple terms, this is the distance between the wearer’s pupils and in the headset is the clearest spot on the two lenses in the headset – which equates to clear vision in VR. This reduces downtime for multi-user training with a reduction in the need to adjust headset visuals between users.
A built-in sub-battery provides up to 20 minutes of battery life. The main battery provides two hours of power. This requires the battery to be exchanged for a fully charged battery multiple times during a full day of simulation. The sub-battery gives the simulation operations specialists enough time to swap out for a fully charged battery without the requirement to shut down the training experience. This decreases the downtime in the simulation environment and improves efficiency.
VIVE Focus Vision Headset Improves Comfort
There is increased comfort with the VIVE Focus Vision headset, with 30% more air intake, which provides a cooling system that keeps the learner comfortable longer. In addition to the cooler system, the headset has a balanced weight that alleviates face pressure. This is accomplished by a counter-balanced battery in the back of the headset.
The VIVE Focus Vision headset runs at a 90Hz refresh rate in standalone mode and up to 120Hz through its PC-connected DisplayPort cable. This minimizes the ‘glitch’ feeling in the visual display and offers a smooth VR experience. This greatly minimizes some discomfort and motion sickness that some VR users experience. This increases the usability for more learners in the simulation program.
