KetamineOne Capital, Ltd. announced an exclusive agreement with OVR Technology (Olfactory Virtual Reality) to use virtual reality technology in psychedelic treatments.
Related: Fragrance Innovation: OVR Technology's Scentware for Virtual Reality
The treatment will use OVR's Inhale Wellness Platform with the VR scent-capable Scentware, designed to deepen immersion, promote relaxation and help manage stress.
It includes a head-mounted display, the ION device and scent cartridges, as well as several scent-focused nature scenes. The ION is lightweight, wireless and emits scent particles in coordination with virtual reality technology designed to deepen a patient’s immersive experience.
Scents delivered through the ION are water-based and made from a combination of natural and synthetic ingredients that have undergone extensive testing.
While virtual reality technology is widely known to incorporate sight and sound, this partnership provides Ketamine One with the capability to generate more realistic immersive virtual reality offerings via scent at its network of clinics, which is expected to enhance experiences and help improve patient treatment outcomes.
The concept for the Architecture of Scent and ION device was based on the idea that scent in virtual reality could dramatically increase immersion. Computer simulations in which patients can interact within virtual three-dimensional environments can help put patients in calming settings and improve relaxation through the addition of scents.
Aaron Wisniewski, CEO and co-founder of OVR Technology, “This is the first virtual reality platform that understands user behavior in the virtual world and responds with real-time sensory stimulation. It has the potential to significantly enhance the wellness capabilities of an already promising technology.”
Dr. Quang Henderson, chair of Ketamine One’s clinic innovation council, said, “We believe that the ION device contains the most accurate on-mask scent technology currently available on the market. The ability for our clinicians to alter perceptual experiences with virtual reality and the ION is extremely promising. Optimizing the therapeutic setting is one of the main goals of our virtual reality-based research and development program and being able to utilize the sense of smell to help patients relax, reduce tension and lower stress is expected to result in the development of a comprehensive treatment.”
