“ Using STYLY, we will establish a common infrastructure for remote development and clinical trials of digital therapeutics.”
From left, Masayo Matsumura, President, BiPSEE; Professor Hiroaki Shigemasu, Kochi University of Technology; Professor Narufumi Suganuma, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Kochi University; Specially Appointed Professor Sakiko Kanbara, Kochi Prefectural University; and Masahiro Yamaguchi, President, Psychic VR Lab.
Psychic VR Lab.Inc (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President: Sachihiro Yamaguchi), which provides the VR/AR/MR creative platform STYLY (https://styly.cc), together with BiPSEE Inc. and three universities in Kochi Prefecture, has established the “Medical x VR” research and development organization at the Kochi University School of Medicine.
About the “Medical x VR” Research and Development Organization
Medical x VR” is a research and development organization established to serve as a research and clinical center for “Medical x VR”. Its mission is to build Japan’s first “Medical x VR” MedTechEcosystem based on collaboration between medicine and engineering, to practice VR digital therapeutics and telemedicine that can function in rural areas, and to create an interdisciplinary center to formulate medical VR guidelines that will serve as guidelines for Japan and abroad.
By setting up a new organization in collaboration with external companies and educational institutions, we aim to not only conduct clinical research on VR digital therapeutics, but also to quickly apply the results of our research in medicine✕VR studies to clinical practice.
The members of the organization are experts in their respective fields: Dr. Masayo Matsumura (President of BiPSEE/Physician in Psychosomatic Medicine) as a specially appointed professor at Kochi University School of Medicine, Mr. Masahiro Yamaguchi (President of Psychic VR Lab) as a specially appointed associate professor, Dr. Sakiko Kanbara (Specially Appointed Professor at Kochi Prefectural University) as a joint research partner and visiting professor, and Dr. Hiroaki Shigemasu (Professor at Kochi Prefectural University) as a visiting professor. In the future, Ryugo Kuwana (member of the Kochi Prefectural Assembly), Shuu Oishi (member of the Kochi Prefectural Assembly), and Ryuji Utsunomiya (President of Alpha Drive Kochi Co., Ltd.) will join the project as advisors, with a view to promoting industry-academia-government-private sector collaboration in Kochi Prefecture. We will continue to increase the number of joint research partners with external private companies and research institutes to commercialize medical X VR technology beyond the framework of research.
Approaches to Medical x VR Studies
The Medical X VR project has three pillars, and each of the participating members will work flexibly to promote research and achieve organic collaboration.
The three pillars are
- Creation of a foundation for pharmaceutical approval and clinical application of VR digital therapeutics
- Establishing guidelines for the use of VR in domestic and overseas medical fields
- Building a platform to promote basic and clinical research in the VR space
- Creation of a foundation for pharmaceutical approval and clinical application of VR digital therapeutics
Create the foundation for the approval of VR digital therapeutics by the pharmaceutical affairs bodies and their clinical application
In August 2020, a smartphone application for smoking cessation treatment was approved by the pharmaceutical affairs bureau for the first time in Japan as a digital therapeutic drug that treats diseases through applications. In the “Medical x VR” study, we aim to become the first in Japan to obtain regulatory approval for a “VR digital therapeutic drug”. Specifically, we will collaborate with three universities in Kochi Prefecture and Psychic VR Lab, which provides the XR creative platform STYLY, to achieve regulatory approval for the BiPSEE product, which is currently undergoing clinical research, and build a clinical model to address the medical issues facing Kochi Prefecture, which is facing medical depopulation and an aging population. We will also build a clinical model to meet the medical challenges of Kochi Prefecture, which faces medical depopulation and aging. This will pave the way for the establishment of VR digital therapeutics as a new treatment option.
2．Establishing guidelines for the use of VR in domestic and overseas medical fields
High safety and ethical standards are required for the use of VR in the medical field. We will drive the formulation of guidelines by organizing the knowledge that can be obtained only by promoting the development, pharmaceutical approval, and clinical application of VR digital therapeutics in an interdisciplinary framework, on the basis of academia.
3．Building a platform to promote basic and clinical research in the VR space
Building a platform to promote basic and clinical research in VR space
We will promote the establishment of an efficient research and development system by developing a common platform that allows us to conduct everything from the development of digital therapeutics to clinical trials remotely in the VR space. In addition to realizing a non-contact, non-face-to-face research environment for coronaviruses, we will also realize joint research using VR with domestic and overseas researchers and medical institutions.
Building a VR treatment model to become a model case for international regional development
Kochi Prefecture ranks third in Japan in terms of the number of doctors per 100,000 people (316.9/100,000 at the end of 2008, according to the statistics of doctors, dentists, and pharmacists by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare), and has regional issues regarding “medical depopulation” and “aging population”, which are international challenges. In this R&D organization, we will build a VR treatment model based on industry-academia-government-private sector collaboration, mainly in Kochi Prefecture, to create a model case for international regional development.
Medical resources and issues in Kochi Prefecture
Logo of the three Kochi universities, BiPSEE and Psychic VR Lab
Logo of the three Kochi universities, BiPSEE and Psychic VR Lab Industry-academia-government-private collaboration team of Kochi University School of Medicine “Medicine✕ VR
Comments from concerned parties
Narufumi Suganuma, Dean, Faculty of Medicine, Kochi University
We have been focusing on the potential of healthcare innovation and promoting it. We received the proposal for the “Medical X VR” project at a time when we felt the importance of producing concrete results and the challenges that would be difficult to realize only through collaboration within academia. By creating a new field of “Medical x VR” and collaborating with agile venture companies, we will realize speedy social implementation and become a leader in healthcare innovation. We will benchmark our efforts against those of the University of California, San Diego, with which we have been close for some time, and will do our utmost to make Kochi a center that attracts a diverse range of human resources from the fields of research, education, and industry.
Sakiko Kanbara, Specially Appointed Professor, Faculty of Nursing, Kochi Prefectural University
In my field of disaster nursing, I would like to make active use of VR, such as experiencing various disaster scenes in VR space to develop the ability to think of disasters as one’s own affair and take action, and experiencing the perspective of “bird’s eye looking at the forest” to acquire the attitude to understand the entire disaster scene. VR has the power to develop people’s new abilities. With the aging and declining population, medical resources are expected to become tighter. I hope that the “Medical x VR” course established at Kochi University will play a role in drawing out the power of self-care of the local people by staying close to the culture of Kochi.
Hiroaki Shigemasu, Professor, School of Informatics, Kochi University of Technology
VR has greatly expanded the possibilities of my specialty, perceptual psychology (clarifying how we perceive the world). Although my research has been focused on images presented on displays, VR has made it possible to present a realistic three-dimensional space and self-body, making it possible to study not only the processing of perceptual input, but also the output. We are currently conducting research on the perception and behavior of the elderly. At the center of “Medical x VR” studies, we will continue to work ambitiously on research and social implementation that aims to bring about positive behavioral changes by spending time in a VR space.
Masayo Matsumura, President, BiPSEE Corporation / Psychosomatic Medicine Physician
In 2016, I encountered VR and felt the great potential of its power to work on people’s minds and bodies. It was a fateful turning point for me as a psychosomatic physician dealing with mental disorders and feeling stuck in conventional treatment. In 2017, I started BiPSEE and began to implement “Medical x VR” in society to reduce the anxiety and pain of children’s treatment. Medical x VR” is an interdisciplinary center of creativity in academia, including VR research, medicine, and clinical practice based on engineering and psychology. From here, I will continue to produce new treatment options and VR digital therapeutics.
Masahiro Yamaguchi, President, Psychic VR Lab, Inc.
The psychological and physical effects of VR have been one of the major themes that we have been focusing on since the establishment of Psychic VR Lab, and we feel a great sense of mission in participating in efforts to not only academically research the effects of VR on the human body, but also to use it as a digital therapeutic agent in the medical field.
We, Psychic VR Lab, would like to promote the construction of a platform to promote basic and clinical research, develop human resources who can use VR, and formulate guidelines for the use of VR in the medical field in Japan and overseas.
Ryugo Kuwana, Member of Kochi Prefectural Assembly
From Kochi Prefecture to the World! VR is expected to be used in a variety of fields, and in the medical field, VR will play an increasingly important role in supporting treatment and surgery, telemedicine, medical education, and reducing the burden on doctors. In the field of medical care, VR is expected to play an increasingly important role in supporting treatment and surgery, telemedicine, medical education, and reducing the burden on doctors. Let’s work together as an all-Kochi team and tell the world about it.
Shuu Oishi, Kochi Prefectural Assembly Member
The “Medical x VR” project is a challenging and attractive project that may provide a clue to solving the biggest social issue facing Kochi Prefecture, namely, the medical issues associated with a declining population. Kochi Prefecture has been trying to solve social issues by using new technologies for several years now. The first of these social issues is regional healthcare. We hope that “Medical x VR” will become a social infrastructure to promote these efforts. The potential of VR can only be realized by experiencing it, and we will support the realization of a future in which “Medical x VR” spreads to regional medical care, is proven through the experience of many people, and spreads to solving other social issues.
Ryuji Utsunomiya, President, Alpha Drive Kochi Co.
As a company that has been extensively involved in new business development, entrepreneurial support, and human resource development in Kochi Prefecture, we would like to promote this “Medical x VR” initiative through industry-academia-government collaboration with the spirit of creating a new industry in Kochi Prefecture. In particular, we will promote the creation of new value by utilizing the open innovation platform and start-up support system that we are working on in collaboration with Kochi Prefecture, and by playing a part in involving companies inside and outside Kochi Prefecture in this field.
Medical x VR case study using STYLY
HIKALY”, a remote psychological counseling service using VR, was launched in collaboration with HIKARI CLINIC, a psychosomatic medicine clinic in Okayama City, using the XR platform STYLY. HIKALY” was launched in collaboration with HIKARI CLINIC, a psychosomatic clinic in Tokyo, Japan, using the XR platform STYLY.
STYLY provides support for business startups to accelerate the development of services that combine medical x VR on the platform.
About STYLY
STYLY is a VR/AR/MR creative platform that provides artists with a place for spatial expression.
By using STYLY, artists can create a variety of spaces that express their imagination without limit, such as conceptual stores, installations, and galleries. In addition, through these spaces, you can share experiences with the Internet world that could not be achieved in reality until now.
The xR space can be created using only a web browser and is compatible with Mac and Windows, and can be run on popular PCs other than VR-compatible PCs. In addition to 3D software such as MAYA and Blender, it is also linked to services such as Youtube and SoundCloud, so you can import various materials and use them for space creation without complicated operations.
STYLY Official Site：https://styly.cc/
STYLY GALLERY：https://gallery.styly.cc/
STYLY Mobile：
Google Play | https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.psychicvrlab.stylymr
App Store | https://itunes.apple.com/jp/app/id1477168256?mt=8
STYLY for Nreal：
GooglePlay：https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.psychicvrlab.styly.Nreal
About Psychic Lab VR
- Head Office : 2F MORIAURA, 1-34-2 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
- Representative: Masahiro Yamaguchi, Representative Director
As a creative platform in the XR (VR: virtual reality, AR: augmented reality, MR: mixed reality) era, Psychic VR Lab has developed “STYLY,” a cloud service that allows users to build XR spaces and distribute VR/AR/MR content using only a browser. With a mission to create a world where all artists can create XR spaces, we are promoting the XRization of interfaces related to art, fashion, and lifestyle.
If you have any questions about launching a new business using STYLY or creating XR contents, please contact us from below.
HP：https://psychic-vr-lab.com/
For inquiries about “Medical x VR” study, please contact
Contact: BiPSEE Komatsu
E-Mail : info@bipsee.co.jp
Phone number : 03-6555-3012(JP)
<Inquiries about STYLY
Psychic VR Lab Inc.
Contact : Watanabe
E-Mail : info@psychic-vr-lab.com
PressKit：https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Zy1Rr-WaCLe3sLyEu3SlC59WeNOE6rbm?usp=sharing