[01/08/2010]

EON Reality Supports Leading Innovation in Psychotherapy at the BBU University in Romania

IRVINE, Calif., January 8, 2010 EON Reality, the world's leading interactive 3D software provider, supports the Babes-Bolyai University (BBU), in Cluj-Napoca, Romania with an immersive EON Icube environment for a virtual reality therapy project. Babes-Bolyai University is the largest university in Romania, one of the most influential in Eastern and Central Europe, and it was ranked on the first place in research among the Romanian Universities in 2009 by the National Council for Scientific Research in Higher Education.

An advanced research platform developed at the Babes-Bolyai University, Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy in Romania, is innovating psychotherapy with virtual reality technology. The PsyTech-MATRIX Platform is the first one in Romania and one of the most advanced systems in the world, building on "state of the art technology" and combining significant psychotherapeutic methods.

Professor Daniel David, a specialist on virtual reality therapy at the BBU, is the director of the ambitious "Star-Gate Psy” project. He has been conducting treatment and research for various symptoms such as anxiety, phobias, depression, and ADHD. "Virtual reality therapy has a lot of advantages in respect to control, safety, precise measurements, time reducing, and sometimes even cost-effectiveness, compared to traditional psychotherapy methods. Virtual techniques can be incorporated in any know form of psychotherapy, from cognitive-behavioral to psychodynamic and humanistic-existential," said Daniel David.

"An immersive virtual reality environment is as close as it can be to a real environment. It allows us to get accurate results and control the information that the client receives in a natural setting. In a marginal performance, this type of treatment is very helpful as it facilitates us to look into more complex processes, integration and understanding of psychotherapy processes. Moreover, target behaviors and cognitions will rise in virtual environments, and we can work on that," stated David Opris, one of the research team members.

A full installation of the Icube interactive 3D system, supplied by EON Reality, has taken place in the new building called AVALON (Advanced Virtual Application Laboratories of Napocensis), as a part of the “Star-Gate Psy” project, based on a grant from the Romanian National Authority for Research Government.

About the PsyTech-MATRIX Platform
The platform for Robotics/Robotherapy and Virtual Reality Therapy is the state of the art research, academic, and services infrastructure at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy / International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health at the Babes-Bolyai University, Romania. It is a part of the “Star-Gate Psy” project to seek out new technologies to improve and develop human mind, human health, and human potential.

The platform is composed of a "Center for Robot Therapy and Virtual Reality Therapy” and consists of five laboratories, each one equipped with immersive systems like the EON Icube environment including a "Star Trek-Holodeck Lab, Stress Control Lab, Virtual Classroom, Pain Control Lab, and a Data Lab focusing on using robots in psychotherapy. All five top laboratories are equipped with the latest technology, supported mainly by the national and international grants of Professor, Ph.D., Daniel David.

The project is set up in collaboration with leading universities, international organizations, and businesses devoted to new technologies and virtual reality therapy .
For details see: http://www.psytech.ro 

The new Avalon building for advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health at the Babes-Bolyai University (BBU), in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.

Innovative Virtual Reality therapy promises great success for treatment and rehabilitation of ADHD symptoms
By applying techniques used in cognitive behavior therapy into an immersive virtual environment, researchers at the Babes-Bolyai University, in Romania has developed a program that promises great success for ADHD treatment.

Professor Daniel David, a specialist on virtual reality therapy at the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the Babes-Bolyai University, in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, has together with a team of researchers developed a new concept for a "Virtual Classroom Intervention" system for ADHD.

Previously, the “Virtual Classroom” systems for ADHD were mainly focused on assessment rather than interventions. It is the first program for ADHD treatment that allows clinicians to use Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) techniques in an immersive, dynamic 3D environment where interaction, behavioral tracking and performance recording is possible.

An initial testing implemented by researchers David Opris, Raluca Anton, & Anca Dobrean, involving eight boys diagnosed with ADHD (6-12 years of age) and 10 non diagnosed boys suggested that the "Virtual Classroom Intervention" system provides a cost-effective and time reducing tool for attention performance measurements and treatments, beyond the existing traditional methods.

"The ability to implement the CBT techniques designed for a real classroom in a virtual one, combined with the possibility of improved control, safety, measurements, time reducing, makes this application a very innovative one," said Professor Daniel David. "One of the main advantages of this new program is that the procedure is highly accurate and requires a significantly shorter time compared to using a traditional approach", David Opris added.

The "Virtual Classroom Intervention” system for ADHD" is a collaboration project between the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, San Diego, California, USA, Digital Mediaworks, Canada and the Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy / International Institute for the Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health at the Babes-Bolyai University, Romania.

About EON Reality
EON Reality, Inc. is the world's leading interactive 3D visual content management and virtual reality software provider. EON’s solutions enable all organizations to more effectively visually communicate, collaborate and accelerate knowledge transfer. Industry leaders include Atlas Copco, Bechtel, Boeing, Bombardier, Hon, Intel, Lexus, Lufthansa –Teknik, Peterbilt, Samsung, Siemens Medical, Suzuki, Toyota and Whirlpool use EON solutions to enhance the interactive user experience to effectively increase sales, better communicate product functionality and decrease the cost of service, training and technical support. Educational institutions and organizations who have adopted EON’s SBL technology solutions include: the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology (located on the campus of the Florence-Darlington Technical College), Honolulu Community College, Old Dominion University, Marquette University, Milwaukee Area Technical College, Discovery World Museum, Oklahoma City Community College, Concord University, Texas State Technical College – Waco, El Paso Community College, University of Alabama, University of Hawaii, University of Kentucky and Fayetteville Technical Community College in North Carolina. For further information, visit www.eonreality.com.