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.
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Taiwan’s population last year shrank further and births continued to decline to a yearly low, the Ministry of the Interior announced today. The ministry published the 2024 population demographics statistics, highlighting record lows in births and bringing attention to Taiwan’s aging population. The nation’s population last year stood at 23,400,220, a decrease of 20,222 individuals compared to 2023. Last year, there were 134,856 births, representing a crude birth rate of 5.76 per 1,000 people, a slight decline from 2023’s 135,571 births and 5.81 crude birth rate. This decrease of 715 births resulted in a new record low per the ministry’s data. Since 2016, which saw
SECURITY: To protect the nation’s Internet cables, the navy should use buoys marking waters within 50m of them as a restricted zone, a former navy squadron commander said A Chinese cargo ship repeatedly intruded into Taiwan’s contiguous and sovereign waters for three months before allegedly damaging an undersea Internet cable off Kaohsiung, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation revealed. Using publicly available information, the Liberty Times was able to reconstruct the Shunxing-39’s movements near Taiwan since Double Ten National Day last year. Taiwanese officials did not respond to the freighter’s intrusions until Friday last week, when the ship, registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, turned off its automatic identification system shortly before damage was inflicted to a key cable linking Taiwan to the rest of
RSS