Virtual Reality Treatment System for Eating Disorders

Approximately 30 million individuals in the United States suffer from eating disorders. Current treatments include physiological therapy and nutrition education. The system designed is a novel treatment approach that contains a progressive, self-directed software exposure experience to “desensitize” and acclimate individuals suffering from anorexia.The software exposes users to different scenarios through a virtual reality program created in Unity and displayed on the Oculus Go, a head-mounted VR display. The software contains nine modules that increase in difficulty while incorporating various scenarios with food, people and environments. Analog biosensors and an Arduino processor record skin impedance, pulse rate and respiratory rate to characterize the user’s stress response. The physiological data collected is displayed in real time in the Oculus Go to enhance the user’s understanding of their physical response to the virtual reality environments.