Wearable Technology Device Can Optimize In Vivo Exposure for PTSD

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 4, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- For patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a wearable technology device (Bio Ware) is feasible for enhancing in vivo exposure (IVE) during prolonged exposure (PE) therapy, according to a pilot study published in the December issue of the Journal of Psychiatric Research.

Tanya C. Saraiya, Ph.D., from the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, and colleagues randomly assigned 40 participants to a guided group that received standard PE and virtual, clinician-guided IVEs with the Bio Ware device or to a nonguided group that received standard PE and used the Bio Ware device on their own during IVEs.

The researchers found that in the per-protocol sample (23 participants who completed at least eight sessions of PE and used the Bio Ware system during one or more IVEs), significant effects were seen for the treatment condition and time. Both groups showed reductions in symptoms of PTSD, but significantly greater reductions were seen in the guided versus the nonguided group.

"Given the evolving health care environment because of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the accompanying circumstances (e.g., sustained utilization of telehealth), this study's findings provide promise for an augmentation to an efficacious treatment that simultaneously meets environmental demands, safely extends the reach of clinicians, and overcomes barriers to patients coming to the clinic," the authors write.

Two authors disclosed financial ties to Zeriscope, which developed Bio Ware.

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