January 19, 2023 – A brand new trend in virtual reality – the incorporation of smells – could mean exciting news not just for gaming but in addition for healthcare.
More and more hospitals across the country are using virtual reality to assist patients manage pain and overcome phobias, and calms the fear. Providers and patients mostly report good resultsaside from the high price. And VR therapies could grow to be increasingly popular, especially when insurers begin to cover the prices.
But despite its potential in healthcare, VR still has deficits in a single respect: we still can't smell it.
“[Smell] has not been sufficiently explored in virtual reality, but it deserves to be,” says Judith Amores, PhD, principal investigator at Microsoft Research and research associate on the MIT Media Lab. “The potential benefits are incredible.”
Amores has been researching the way to mix VR with smells to reinforce an individual's response. an experimentshe had participants wear a VR headset that depicted calming nature scenes and a sensible necklace she developed that would release lavender scent. When lavender bursts were added to the VR, participants reported feeling 26% more relaxed than without the scent. A tool that monitors brain activity confirmed this: participants' physiological response was up 25% when the scent was added.
The study was small (only 12 people), but Amores says it represents a direction that requires investigation with more people in a peer-reviewed study. Systematic review 2022 Research into virtual reality with multiple senses supports their view: “Smell and taste have not been researched much yet,” the study says, “and they can represent considerable added value for VR applications” – also for health.
If we smell somethingReceptor cells within the nose transmit messages to the olfactory bulb at the bottom of the brain. This information is passed on to the amygdala and hippocampus, areas of the brain accountable for processing memories and emotions, Amores explains.
“Your sense of smell goes straight to the emotional center of the brain,” says Amores. “This means you can literally change your feelings depending on what you smell.”
So smell can immerse us deeper into virtual reality, which could make VR treatments faster and simpler, says Amores.
New odor technology could advance research
While medical research on this area is progressing slowly, the entertainment industry's efforts could help move it forward. According to Amores, there aren’t any VR systems with odor detection yet, but that would change this 12 months.
At the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held earlier this month, Vermont-based OVR Technology unveiled a headset with eight primary aromas that could be combined to create hundreds of scents. The ION3, because it is named, is Release planned for later this year.
A study published in International Journal of Human-Computer Studies describes a smell machine that was tested with a virtual reality headset made by tech giant HTC. The researchers suggest that such technology could, amongst other things, help improve “smell training” for many who have lost their sense of smell resulting from COVID-19.
Improving VR therapies through smell
Odor-enhanced VR therapies could possibly be tested for all forms of clinical applications, says Amores, akin to treating anxiety, sleep disordersand even Alzheimer's (the sense of smell is linked to memory).
VR “exposure therapy” has already been used to treat PTSD in military veterans, immersing them in a virtual environment that triggers a traumatic memory and desensitizes them to the memory in order that they learn that their thoughts are protected. A 2021 article in brain research noted that incorporating smells into such therapy is “much needed” because smells can trigger traumatic memories, in some cases more intensely than sounds. A disturbing smell (akin to diesel fuel or the smell of something burning) could possibly be followed or layered with a calming scent akin to pine, eucalyptus or cinnamon to regularly reduce and even eliminate odor triggers, the study said.
Addicts may also profit from VR exposure therapy as they learn to administer or resist cravings triggered by certain stimuli. Research suggests. VR has the ability to move you anywhere – to a bar or a celebration, for instance – and the smell of wine or cigarettes can add the realism needed to trigger desire.
Another application could possibly be surgery preparation, says Amores. A patient has a VR session with relaxing smells – for instance, walking through a forest and inhaling the scent of pine and moss – Reducing fear of the procedureand will reduce the quantity of pain medication needed and improve outcomes.
These smells could possibly be used again during hospitalization or recovery – with or without VR – to quickly calm the patient down. It's a variety of Pavlovian conditioning that's easy to duplicate, says Amores.
At Cedars-Sinai Center in Los Angeles, VR is being researched and used to assist patients relieve pain from a wide range of conditions, including irritable bowel syndrome and chronic lower back pain.
Melissa Wong, MD, a maternal and child gynecologist at Cedars-Sinai, has studied VR for pain and stress relief during labor and delivery, potentially delaying using epidural anesthesia.
“The mind-body connection is crucial when it comes to pain,” says Wong, “and using VR could leverage that connection.” Intensifying perception through scent could likely enhance those effects, she adds.
As research continues to focus on the ability of smell, the sense will likely grow to be more widely utilized in clinical treatment, predicts Amores. It may not be long before Smell-o-Vision is accessible in a hospital near you.