Reddit user reaches out to the VR community to help with his fathers Alzheimer's...and receives it!
“I’m losing my dad to Alzheimer’s. Every day that passes I can tell that there is less and less of him here with us. It breaks my heart,” “We’ve tried all the traditional medicines to slow the progression but nothing seems to be helping him at all.”
The above was part of a recent Reddit post by user Porspellar in which the user turned to VR developers for help with an app to help his fathers Alzheimer's.
The reason the Reddit turned to VR developers was due to some promising research out of MIT that showed that a flashing light pulse of 40hz for an hour was shown to noticeably reduce the beta amyloid brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's in mice (the mice had been genetically engineered to have Alzheimer's-type damage).
Porspellar did end up being helping out by another user. Samuel Sekandagu of Overflow Games who developed a prototype within hours.
You can see the exchange below.
Sekandagu did release the code via Github but for safety reasons we will not post it at this date,
This is a prototype and the original poster did say he would consult his fathers physicians before trying it. This was not the only person to try to help the user.
The original poster ended up being contacted by company's called Rendever , an MIT company that takes a human-centered design approach, applying the latest MIT research to deliver affordable, customized virtual reality experiences for people who receive and provide eldercare.
We here at CatsAndVR.com commend both Sam and Rendever on reaching out to help this Reddit community member. I recommend purchasing Overflow Games VR title Adobe as well as checking out what Rendever is currently working on.
http://store.steampowered.com/app/548340/
The answers may not be here now but with people caring enough to search for them maybe they are not far away. VR is not just a fad or new form of entertainment, it can help change the world.
The Future Iz Meow.
