Magic Horizons Medical VR is a technology partner of the new FOREST study. This study – a joint project between the University Hospital of Würzburg, the Robert Bosch Centre for Integrative Medicine and Health in Stuttgart and the University Hospital of Tübingen – is investigating how virtual nature environments affect fatigue and depression. 172 test subjects were divided into 4 groups: real forest bathing, forest bathing with VR, imaginary forest bathing and the classic control group that did not undergo any applications.
A Real forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) can have a positive effect on mental health, as numerous studies have shown. However, patients suffering from cancer are often too exhausted or unable to go into a real forest environment – this is where virtual forest bathing using medical virtual reality comes in. The study shows whether there are differences between real forest bathing and virtual forest bathing and what impact it has on states of exhaustion, sleep problems and depression. Multisensory approaches, some of which Magic Horizons has taken up in its medical VR, also play a role. It is assumed that the effect is enhanced when several senses are addressed – visual, auditory and olfactory. Magic Horizons Medical VR is a VR solution for hospitals and therapy centres. It comprises 100 scientifically based VR contents for relaxation, mood enhancement, anxiety and pain reduction. Patients can bathe in the forest, swim with dolphins or complete a guided breathing exercise. The stand-alone system makes this possible at any location – whether in the clinic, practice or at home. The VR application is used in healthcare to distract patients or for therapeutic guidance and to transform sterile clinical environments into oases of well-being that support the recovery process.
