Virtual Reality-Supported Digital Depression Therapy

The digitalization of healthcare opens up new opportunities for psychotherapy

BMBF funded Project ReliVR

Project Justification

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly acknowledged for its transformative potential in mental health treatment, offering key advantages such as cost-effectiveness, time efficiency, broader accessibility, reduced stigma, and scalability. While VR-based interventions for anxiety disorders have been extensively studied and validated, its application as a therapeutic modality for major depression remains largely underexplored.

Our objective is to pioneer immersive VR therapy modules specifically designed for the treatment of major depressive disorder, supplemented by a web-based platform for use in home environments. The digital therapy system is built on modular components grounded in psychodynamic therapeutic principles and includes interventions for stress reduction, social interaction and relationship support, social skills training, analysis of avoidance behaviors, and psychoeducation.

Through immersive VR scenarios, patients are exposed to emotionally relevant and complex interpersonal experiences that foster high levels of engagement and therapeutic presence. This immersive approach supports deeper emotional processing and behavioral change, offering a novel and promising pathway for the treatment of depression.

Our Approach

IXP has developed an automated system for monitoring depression, based on acoustic voice analysis. Implemented as a speech-based digital diary, the system enables continuous and non-invasive tracking of users’ affective states and depression severity in everyday settings.

By analyzing vocal characteristics such as prosody, pitch variation, speech rate, and energy, the system detects subtle changes in emotional expression and vocal behavior that are associated with depressive symptoms. This innovative approach allows for early identification of mood deterioration, supports self-reflection, and offers clinicians valuable supplementary data for treatment monitoring and personalization.

Work Packages, Insights and Outcomes

Within the research project, IXP is primarily responsible for medical technology requirements management, with a focus on identifying usage contexts through a comprehensive medical needs analysis. This foundational step ensures that all technological developments align with clinical relevance and user-centered application scenarios.

The core objective of IXP is the development of a voice-based depression monitoring system that leverages machine learning techniques to assess the risk of symptom recurrence. In addition to this, a deep learning algorithm is implemented to detect and monitor emotional states over time, allowing for dynamic tracking of affective changes.

By combining advanced speech analysis with intelligent prediction models, IXP contributes to the creation of an innovative, data-driven solution for long-term monitoring and early intervention in depressive disorders.

Besides that, IXP supports the technical development process and study design, and handles market intelligence within the project, including project marketing and effective public relations. In addition, IXP implements reimbursement scenarios, including refinancing strategies and evaluation of selective payer contracts, as well as market intelligence, business model development, sales organization, international marketing and social media communication strategies.