iSAVE

Adaptive narrative virtual reality therapy for patient anxiety
iSAVE patient lying on a bed with VR headset while a health carer runs MRI scanner simulation software
 
iSAVE is a virtual reality simulation of an MRI scan appointment that adapts to patient anxiety levels in real time. Dr Hannah Wood worked with Cineon through her company Story Juice to develop a narrative user experience and friendly AI companion that guides and supports patients through their virtual appointment and adapts the environment and companion dialogue to patient anxiety levels measured through eye-tracking and user-selected input.
Hannah’s narrative experience design and scriptwriting process was informed by patient and psychological research into virtual exposure therapy conducted at the University of Exeter, input from medics at University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust and Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, collaboration with Cineon colleagues and her own research on user and character choice, representation and accessibility.
Man using VR on the iSAVE project

Hannah was an absolute pleasure to work with on the project. She brought a creative insight into the psychological adaptations woven into the experience and crafted a compelling script, actively collaborating with our team and radiologists to shape an engaging user experience. Her proactive research into MRI-related anxiety and claustrophobia, coupled with outreach to clinicians and other experts, added invaluable depth. She played a pivotal role in creating concept art for the companion and leveraged an efficient use of AI to generate the voiceover. Hannah was also instrumental in ensuring that every UX design decision aligned with best practices for accessibility and inclusivity, as we try to reduce the impact of digital inequality.

Tilly Loveland-Perkins
Project Lead at Cineon 
Missed MRI appointments cost the NHS on average £11m annually and lead to poor patient outcomes. iSAVE is a solution designed to significantly reduce cancellations and enhance scan quality by offering a virtual MRI experience that enables patients to gain familiarity with the MRI process before undertaking a scan. Through eye tracking technology and a uniquely designed AI system, iSAVE automatically adapts in real-time to anxiety and implements personalised exposure therapy.

How it works

  • An intelligent companion guides patients through the experience to deliver advice and coaching that adapts in real-time to their anxiety level.
  • Simulation of the entire experience of an MRI scan appointment to prepare patients from start to finish, with short and long options available for repeat users and adaptation of the environment in response to patient anxiety levels.
  • There are two versions of the software: one stand-alone and the other controlled by a clinician via a desktop.
iSAVE MRI simulation

Project objectives

  • Integrating narrative experience design with a hidden anxiety estimation algorithm to deliver a bespoke exposure therapy for patients.
  • Developing a narrativised AI companion that can be used in other virtual healthcare therapy contexts.
  • Reducing patient appointment cancellations and no-shows due to anxiety to save costs for health providers.
  • Reducing the amount of time needed to acclimatise anxious patients at a real appointment, increasing the number of patients that can be seen and saving costs.
iSAVE organisational structure
iSAVE integration of AI
iSAVE eye tracking
Eye tracking
iSAVE MRI lab simulation
iSAVE simulation