Reference number : GC-2017-Q3-00612, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Kushki, Azadeh (University of Toronto), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : Ontario, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Engage Grants for universities, program name french : Subventions d'engagement partenarial pour les universités, program purpose english : This project will catalyze a new collaboration between Shaftesbury and the University of Toronto/Holland Bloorview Kids_x000D_
Rehabilitation Hospital to design a virtual reality experience for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many children with_x000D_
ASD have difficulty coping with new situations and settings and this can cause anxiety and missed opportunities for education and_x000D_
meaningful participation. To help children cope with these transitions, Shaftesbury is developing a virtual reality experience for_x000D_
children to virtually and safely explore new settings before the actual experience. The difficulty level of the virtual environment will_x000D_
be adjusted in a gradual and clinically-meaningful way to desensitize the child to particular anxiety-provoking triggers over multiple_x000D_
VR sessions. Shaftesbury will partner with researchers at the University of Toronto/Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab to develop a_x000D_
system to guide this adjustment process. Specifically, we propose to use physiological signal to identify and adjust features of the_x000D_
virtual environment that cause distress for children (e.g., noise levels, colors, various visual details). This will lead to a_x000D_
personalized experience for each child that addresses their unique challenges. We will leverage our shared interests and expertise_x000D_
to enhance the usability and effectiveness of Shaftesburys system for children with ASD. The method and algorithms generated_x000D_
from this project will be directly integrated into the Positive Distraction Entertainment System software during the system test_x000D_
phase and in a future phase of the commercial deployment._x000D_, program purpose french : This project will catalyze a new collaboration between Shaftesbury and the University of Toronto/Holland Bloorview Kids_x000D_
Rehabilitation Hospital to design a virtual reality experience for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Many children with_x000D_
ASD have difficulty coping with new situations and settings and this can cause anxiety and missed opportunities for education and_x000D_
meaningful participation. To help children cope with these transitions, Shaftesbury is developing a virtual reality experience for_x000D_
children to virtually and safely explore new settings before the actual experience. The difficulty level of the virtual environment will_x000D_
be adjusted in a gradual and clinically-meaningful way to desensitize the child to particular anxiety-provoking triggers over multiple_x000D_
VR sessions. Shaftesbury will partner with researchers at the University of Toronto/Holland Bloorview Kids Rehab to develop a_x000D_
system to guide this adjustment process. Specifically, we propose to use physiological signal to identify and adjust features of the_x000D_
virtual environment that cause distress for children (e.g., noise levels, colors, various visual details). This will lead to a_x000D_
personalized experience for each child that addresses their unique challenges. We will leverage our shared interests and expertise_x000D_
to enhance the usability and effectiveness of Shaftesburys system for children with ASD. The method and algorithms generated_x000D_
from this project will be directly integrated into the Positive Distraction Entertainment System software during the system test_x000D_
phase and in a future phase of the commercial deployment._x000D_, agreement title english : Physiologically-Adapted Virtual Reality Experiences for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, agreement title french : Physiologically-Adapted Virtual Reality Experiences for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, agreement number : EGP, agreement value : 24931.0, agreement start date : 2017-10-18, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year (2017-2018 to 2018-2019)., additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier (2017-2018 à 2018-2019)., owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada