STUD: Fornix - Development and testing of a minimum viable Virtual Reality product for treating anxiety disorders

There is a need for novel solutions in mental health sectors to innovate treatment as we know it. The prevalence of mental health problems are greater than the current systems and the solutions they are able to accommodate. Fornix aims to develop and offer Virtual Reality (VR)-based solutions which may afford more available and effective treatments. VR is an interactive simulated environment displayed through eyeglasses covering the entire field of vision. 1 out of 4 will be afflicted with an anxiety disorder during their lifetime. Anxiety disorders often lead to an inability to maintain work, social connection, as well as reduced quality of life. While treating anxiety disorders it is often appropriate to allow the patient to systematically confront what they fear. This is called exposure therapy. Research from the past 25 years shows that exposure in VR is an effective treatment for many anxiety disorders. Fornix aims to create a VR-solution for both the public and private mental health care sector. Fornix's STUD-ENT project had two main goals: The first was to create a viable VR tool for the mental health industry to help treat various phobias. This goal was reached, and in January of 2022, a customer contract was signed with the Nordland Regional Health Trust. In fact, the attention that the STU-ENT project gathered in the industry was greater than expected. Around the same time as the contract with Nordland was signed, Fornix received a grant from the DAM Foundation and the Norwegian Council for Mental Health to develop a comprehensive VR solution for social anxiety by building on the progress made in the STUD-ENT project. A collaboration agreement was also signed with Oslo University Hospital for the development of Norway's first VR solution for treating psychosis. The second goal of the STUD-ENT project was clinical testing of a VR tool Fornix developed for the treatment of odontophobia. As of May 2022, the results of this are not yet ready to be published, but according to the collaborating institution, Tannhelsekompetansesenteret Midt-Norge, the product enables their patients to train themselves in handling their own anxiety reactions when receiving dental treatment. Going forward, Fornix wants to keep developing tools to meet the different needs in the treatment of various mental health disorders. Through VR, we want to create a new and safe arena for training. Our hope is that VR will give opportunities where other forms of therapy are inadequate or infeasible.

Pilot stadiet for basis-pakken forventes fortsatt å være ferdig i 2022. Inntekter har også begynt å strømme inn fra kunder som er villige til å signere på ett-års lisens kontrakt (fremfor månedlig), slik som Nordlandssykehuset. Utover dette vil det i 2022-2023 også komme kundeinntekter fra samarbeidspartnere som OuS og SiV gjennom utviklingsprosjektene vi har med dem. Dette var ikke en forventet virkning og effekt fra prosjektet, men er allikevel en veldig positiv utvikling som ikke bare sikrer inntekt men også fremtidig ekspansjon av basis-pakken.