YOUR IMPACT ON ALLIED HEALTH RESEARCH
RBWH GIVING DAY DONORS FUND A VIRTUAL REALITY TOOL FOR COMMUNICATION DISORDERS
The RBWH Foundation is committed to supporting RBWH health professionals to develop new and innovative solutions to everyday clinical questions.
Simone Garske RBWH Foundation CEO
rbwhfoundation.com.au
New technology, usually associated with the video game industry, is being used by Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital (RBWH) speech pathology researchers to help people with communication disorders practice skills and build confidence. The RBWH Foundation funded research project, led by Advanced Speech Pathologist and Metro North Clinician Research Fellow, Dr Clare Burns, is developing a virtual reality (VR) scenario to assist clients practice every day social interactions in a clinical setting. “VR technology allows the client to be immersed in an everyday environment such as a busy café or supermarket and practice their communication in a personally relevant, yet safe place,” said Dr Burns. “The benef it of this collaborative VR application is that both speech pathologist and client can immerse themselves in the same environment and practice a range of communication strategies together with the clinician offering prompts and assistance as needed.”
Seed funding for the project was provided by RBWH Giving Day, the major annual fundraising event of the RBWH Foundation. Further funding is now needed to trial it with a wider range of client groups. Ms Simone Garske, RBWH Foundation CEO, said “Research is not always conducted in a laboratory, it also evolves in clinical practice. “The RBWH Foundation is committed to supporting RBWH health professionals to develop new and innovative solutions to everyday clinical questions.” The VR tool was developed in partnership with Dr Atiyeh Vaezipour and team from The University of Queensland’s RECOVER Injury Research Centre.
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