DTC Student Blandine French and one of her supervisors Professor David Daley, were on the BBC regional news following the demonstration of a new virtual reality project by Shire "In my shoes" experience at the annual CANDAL conference at the Institute of Mental Health on Friday February 3. Blandine and David were subsequently invited to take part in the BBC breakfast show on Saturday morning to talk about this project.
The "in my shoes" campaign is a virtually reality experience and was developed with the help of Professor David Daley and Blandine French from the Institute of Mental Health. In the experience participants wear Oculus rift glasses and enter a 360 degrees virtual reality world of three different individuals with ADHD, a young boy, an adolescent girl and an adult having a challenging day at work. The experience allows participants to see the world through the eyes of three different patients with ADHD and the 360 degree format allows for full immersion in the scenarios, developing a deeper emotional experience. This innovative experience aims to help clinicians fully understand what it is like to have ADHD so that they can see the individual behind the disorder.
Blandine said: "Presenting this project on national television was a fantastic opportunity. We received a lot of interest and positive feedback from clinicians, teachers, parents and patients alike. The extensive interest truly showed us the need for such tools to be available out there and was heartwarming and powerful in demonstrating how much of a difference our projects and research can make. We are planning on taking the project in many international conferences over the next year and developing a more clinical and patient centered understanding."
Further information is available on the Institute of Mental Health website at www.institutemh.org.uk
Posted on Thursday 9th February 2017