■Our reporter Xuan Jing
"Are you ready to play your medicine? (Are you ready to play your medicine?)" On the homepage of the official website of the digital therapy "EndeavorRx", an unusual greeting shows the maverick of "game + medical care".
The study found that the game provides players with an immersive experience through gameplay, plot and other means, while also providing a certain emotional value and healing effect.
Compared with traditional medicines and instruments, gamified digital therapy is more engaging and interesting, and has a more significant effect on some special groups.
The rigor of medical treatment and the entertainment of games seem to be "incompatible". How does "digital medicine" integrate them?
From the approval of "EndeavorRx" by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) two years ago, to the approval of "Happy Horizon Planet" by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in April this year, more and more game manufacturers and related companies have successively Entering the game, the development blueprint of "game + medical treatment" has become more and more clear.
Perhaps one day in the future, the prescription prescribed by the doctor will no longer be traditional pills, but will let you go home and clear the game "Ring Fitness Adventure".
Functional games drive innovation in 'digital medicine'
Explore virtual worlds, capture mysterious creatures, and challenge to unlock new characters... Can these novel gaming experiences heal?
In 2020, "EndeavorRx" developed by Akili Interactive passed FDA approval, which is the first certified "digital game drug".
Most of the subjects it treats suffer from attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), commonly known as "hyperactivity disorder", which is one of the most common diseases in children.
Akili founder Martucci said the company is expanding its core technology to treat other acute and chronic diseases, such as autism and depression.
In China, Shengqu Games and Zhejiang University Children's Hospital will jointly launch a functional game for ADHD called "Intensive Training Number" in 2021. Using the technology of brain-computer integration, through brain feedback, it can enter the nervous system responsible for certain cognitive functions and stimulate physiological changes. .
According to reports, the game can be connected to various brain-computer interfaces in real time, and the synchronization rate of the treatment process and the receiving rate of patients' brain waves can reach the millisecond level. At the same time, the closed-loop method is adopted to effectively locate the patient's situation and timely feedback the training process.
Digital medical games can not only introduce the latest software and hardware technologies, but also have the advantages of simple operation and strong interactivity, which is conducive to the creation of new application scenarios suitable for special patients.
In June this year, Sanqi Mutual Entertainment launched the "Star Life Paradise" app version to explore games with auxiliary training functions for people with mental disabilities.
The game simulates story scenes such as shopping in the supermarket, taking the elevator, going in and out of the bathroom, etc. Children with autism can practice and experience how to reasonably deal with social problems and relieve anxiety.
"The therapeutic effect of functional games on some cognitive impairments has already reached positive conclusions in the academic world, and games can also assist psychological analysis research." According to Wang Tao, director of the emergency room of Dongfang Hospital, the development of functional games is "game + medical treatment". "Good direction for the track.
Game technology creates an immersive diagnosis and treatment system
The exploration of "game + medical treatment" goes far beyond the field of brain science and mental illness.
As early as 2013, Canadian scholars published a research result: "Tetris" may be effective in the treatment of amblyopia.
Amblyopia, also known as "lazy eye," is a vision impairment caused by a developmental defect in the nervous system.
The traditional treatment process is tedious, and it is difficult for young children to adhere to repeated content training for a long time.
Log in to the game system, transform into a little dinosaur, pick up "flowers" to defeat the enemy.
In the "Happy Vision Planet Visual Training System" jointly developed by Polk City and Wenzhou Medical University, children can explore the dreamy ice cream island, the gorgeous candy world, and the wonderful dream world, while awakening the "sleeping" visual cells.
This rehabilitation treatment product for children's strabismus and amblyopia incorporates a variety of light stimulation treatments such as grating, red light stimulation, and fine vision. Specially invited children's story writers to write story plots, unique character settings, gorgeous planetary scenes, and a rich picture book system. Create a childlike fantasy world.
Wander 5 fantasy continents, unlock 15 props, unfold 16 characteristic maps, discover 46 strange creatures... Rich and interesting game elements guide children through the months of treatment without knowing it.
"Finally found a training product that does not require parental companionship. Children can train alone, and parents can easily grasp the child's treatment process through real-time supervision through the App." The parents of the child Lele left a message on the official website.
In April this year, "Happy Vision Planet" obtained the Class II certificate for medical devices, becoming the first gamified AI medical software approved by NMPA in China.
It is reported that "Happy Horizon Planet" has entered the procurement catalogue of some eye hospitals and eye centers of tertiary hospitals, and plans to cooperate to establish clinical laboratories to help the further development of gamified digital therapy.
In addition, Tencent Game Photonics Studio cooperated with Zhongshan Ophthalmology Center of Sun Yat-Sen University to launch the "Growth Escort Team Child Vision Screening System", which uses immersive interactive design principles, combined with eye tracking technology and big data algorithm models, to greatly improve screening efficiency.
The Activision-based gamified screening software, which was put into medical use in June this year, can reduce the screening process that took 2 hours to 10 minutes.
Digital therapy broadens the boundaries of "gaming + medical"
Thanks to the rapid development of mobile Internet and artificial intelligence technology, the widespread popularity of wearable devices and intelligent software, and the in-depth application of medical big data, digital therapy continues to broaden the boundaries of "game + medical care".
In recent years, more and more companies have flocked to the new track of "game + medical care", and the global digital therapy market is rapidly expanding, and is expected to grow from $4.22 billion in 2021 to $18.06 billion in 2028.
With the deepening of digital transformation and development, the application and exploration of game technology in the medical and health field has attracted attention.
Shengqu Games and Zhejiang University jointly established the "Zhejiang University Legend Innovation Research Center", focusing on the frontier fields of brain science such as digital medicine, digital organs, human-machine integrated intelligence, and dream research; Polk City released the "Gamification Digital Therapy Strategy", and Tongji University Affiliated Yangzhi Rehabilitation Hospital, Weimai, Jianhai Technology and other medical institutions have reached cooperation intentions... At present, "game + medical treatment" is still in the early stage, leaving a lot of room for thinking and imagination.
The process of breaking the "dimension wall" of games and medical care is not an overnight process, and it requires continuous efforts to overcome difficulties.
Before En deavorRx was approved by the FDA, Akili spent five years proving the effectiveness of its product, publishing data from five different clinical studies, one of which was a prospective, randomized study published in The Lancet Digital Health Controlled study.
The "players" on the new track are ambitious, but the exploration of many companies and products is almost in the early stage of "crossing the river by feeling the stones".
Experts pointed out that not any game can have a healing effect. On the premise of clarifying its treatment principle, digital therapy must also undergo extremely rigorous efficacy verification, especially to consider whether there are corresponding adverse reactions or even malignant medical accidents.
Chen Hang, a master of ophthalmology and optometry from Wenzhou Medical University, believes that games focus on entertainment factors, but software for medical devices (SaMD) pays more attention to the core principles.
"For example, in the entire presentation process, which things have the strongest therapeutic effect and which are useless? These require corresponding scientific arguments, research results and clinical applications."