Low-cost fMRI-safe virtual reality glasses

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which are being used to understand how drugs of abuse alter brain functioning, are being combined with stimulus-producing hardware such as virtual reality (VR) goggles to study task-related assessments of brain activation. The high cost of such VR hardware systems has thus far inhibited widespread use of this technology. In Phase I, The Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) plans to construct a prototype of low-cost fMRI-safe VR glasses, test its safety in the laboratory, and perform human factors testing on 20 participants. In Phase II, The Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) plans to refine its Phase I prototype of low- cost fMRI-safe VR glasses; test their optical/visual, biodynamic, and acoustical properties in the laboratory; and perform clinical testing on 65 participants. This will test the physical performance of the VR glasses and determine whether participants are able to experience a strong feeling of presence and immersion in the virtual world during an fMRI brain scan. Comparable commercially available fMRI-safe VR head-mounted devices (HMDs) with eye-tracking capabilities and associated audio/video hardware sell for more than $50,000. Because we propose an improved design over current non-parametric goggles and their associated hardware, we expect our cost to be between 1/4 and 1/2 that of our competitors and our selling price to be $20,000 or less. During Phase II, we will prepare the product for Phase III commercialization. For drug abuse research, study areas using the fMRI-safe virtual reality (VR) glasses include brain/behavior correlations, cue exposure response, and neural regeneration post-usage. Other clinical research uses include brain plasticity research, rehabilitation of brain-injured patients, and spatial navigation. The Virtual Reality Medical Center believes that its low-cost, fMRI-safe VR glasses will enable more researchers to be able to conduct investigations into important research questions in these areas, thus making an important contribution to improving public health.