Eating Disorders (TCA), such as anorexia or bulimia, affect nearly one million people in France, including a significant number of young individuals. Treatment resistance and frequent relapses are common challenges in the management of Eating Disorders. The nature of treating Eating Disorders is inherently complex. However, the complexity increases even more when the diagnosis is made late. Therefore, one of the major challenges of the French healthcare system lies in early detection and the implementation of appropriate interventions at the first signs of the illness.
Led by a team of doctors, psychologists, dieticians, and research associates from CH d’Arras, and developed by Audace Digital Learning, VERTEXA (Virtual Reality Therapy Exposition in Anorexia) is a therapeutic tool in virtual reality designed for healthcare professionals in private practice and their patients. Its objective is to enable early and innovative management of the disease.
This therapeutic and psychoeducational tool takes the form of gamified and immersive care journey, is the result of digitizing the content of therapeutic day hospital sessions for eating disorders (TCA) at CH Arras, recently certified by the Regional Health Agency (ARS) Hauts-de-France as a “specialized care offering for the management of eating disorders.”
Device
VERTEXA consists of various modules, each focused on a specific symptomatic trait of Eating Disorders (EDs).
In this immersive serious game, the patient, equipped with a virtual reality headset, becomes the protagonist of their own role… and their own care journey.
During 20-minute sessions several times a week, the patient can play and engage with the management of their illness in a playful and immersive environment that is reassuring and attractive. The “gaming” nature and narrative universe of the therapeutic game help to engage the patient, allowing the delivery of educational messages in an effective manner.
Several mini-games and therapeutic or psychoeducational workshops, whose mechanics have been imagined with the collaboration of Audace, are offered to the player. Their objective: to combat food beliefs or body image disorders.
To maintain the patient’s motivation throughout the treatment journey, the software offers a progression through levels of increasing difficulty. A system of achievements allows the player to unlock rewards and positively reinforce the changes accomplished in real life.
The medical teams also have the ability, through a dedicated web interface, to monitor the patient’s adherence and progress. Indeed, the tool allows the physician to obtain key indicators of the patient’s physical health evolution (e.g., automatic calculation of certain measurements) or mental health (e.g., daily self-assessment).
Targets
Healthcare professionals in the community.
Patients suffering from eating disorders (often young population and increasingly technology-savvy).
Objectives
In the end, the advantage of VERTEXA is to make the expertise of a seasoned multidisciplinary team in supporting anorexic patients available to healthcare professionals who do not have access to such a care structure. This support is provided early on, before the worsening of the symptoms and the often delayed hospitalization. Indeed, early intervention is ultimately the only factor for a favorable prognosis in this condition.
Dr. Vincent FLORENT, MD PhD, nutritionist physician, head of the TCA (Eating Disorders) unit at CH d’Arras, clinician researcher at INSERM U1172 Lille Neurosciences and Cognition.
