A study on communication generated by virtual reality reminiscence in a psychiatric hospital

It is becoming clear that simulated outings in virtual reality (VR) can help alleviate psychiatric symptoms and improve cognitive function in adult patients and the aged. However, conventional VR simulated experiences using head-mounted displays, which are goggle-type devices, have a major issue in that they can only be experienced by one person and do not allow communication with others. Therefore, in this study, we developed a sharing system for VR simulated experiences that incorporates an element of communication with familiar people and created VR content including memorable places for hospitalized patients. We then investigated how hospitalized patients react when experiencing the content of their own memorable places.