TS-002166 — Education and awareness about mental health increased the demand for better digital programs so health care professionals can reach patients outside the clinical setting. Researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital created a program that sends multimedia text messages to encourage positive thinking and to reduce chances of readmission to behavioral health hospitals.

TS-001036 — School can be a daunting experience. Constant motion, public speaking and a new environment can increase anxiety in children, sometimes leading to school avoidance. A team at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has developed a solution, where exposure therapy procedures are combined with modern technology can improve the school experience for people of all ages. Using a Virtual Reality (VR) Simulation, clinicians are able to use the multi-user capability to interact with and guide their patient through new environments such as classrooms, hallways and lunchrooms, as well as scenarios known to trigger increased anxiety such as public speaking or asking for help. Biofeedback components help collect data so that the clinician can adapt the experience to the user. Although targeted for school-aged children, this technology can be modified to treat any person with school or public phobia.

TS-000540 — A team led by Dr. Christopher Bartlett at Nationwide Children’s Hospital has developed an app to connect patients with a personalized plan created by speech therapists to aid those with a stutter. This app combines audio-visual components with text to explain an exercise, which is then recorded as the client performs it. The team expanded on this concept to include a deep neural network to provide immediate feedback, as well as the option to connect and share results on social media and with their therapist. The care provider will be able to add exercises as their patient progresses. Once an exercise is mastered, the exercise is opened permanently to the client.