National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) has designed a virtual reality (VR) course combined with aromatherapy to increase the well-being of elderly people, with the research results published in an international medical journal.
NTNU College of Education vice dean Guo Jong-long (郭鐘隆) on Tuesday said that the college launched the course to reduce stress among elderly people, and help address some of the nursing difficulties faced by long-term care facilities, such as insomnia and dementia.
The course allows people to play a game in which they can smell natural scents, Guo said, adding that the scents help stabilize emotions and ease discomfort.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
For example, players can experience picking oranges in an orchard or collecting resin from trees as the corresponding scents are released, he said.
Feedback from people who have participated in the course showed that as the game requires them to think, it can prevent dementia, while the immersive nature scenes made them want to experience the outdoors more, he said.
Some said that watering plants in the game gave them a sense of purpose and responsibility, while others said that they like learning how to use technology, as it helps them communicate better with younger people, the feedback showed.
The course and research findings have been published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, Guo said.
PureAroma Healing Academy principal Cheng Ya-wen (鄭雅文), who collaborated with NTNU on the course, said that initially, scents were delivered manually.
For example, when a player plucked lavender, an assistant would put real lavender under the player’s nose, Cheng said.
However, the method created delays, she said.
The upgraded version, dubbed the “VR 2.0 course,” uses a scent diffuser containing seven fragrances in front of the player.
It delivers the scent automatically when the player performs an action to trigger it, she said.
Children who lack family interactions have also taken the course, Cheng said, adding that such children often lack opportunities to experience nature, and the course instills confidence and optimism in them.
The university said its development team has promoted the course to students at New Taipei Municipal Fuhe Junior High School and signed an industry-academia cooperation project with Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in Taipei.
NTNU College of Education dean Chen Hsueh-chih (陳學志) said that the course is an example of the university taking its social responsibility seriously and how its achievements in academia and practical fields are helping construct a more harmonious society.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and