Face your worst fears… with a VR headset strapped on

WELLNESS-TECH: (From left) Srinivas Atreya, Sirisha Peyyeti, Dr
Srinivas Pingali, and Dr Vishal Indla, co-founders of Avika

The emerging field of health-tech, with myriad interventions greatly improving treatment outcomes, is currently more focused on physical well-being.

To fill the gap in solutions geared towards psychological issues, a Hyderabad-based startup, Avika, is developing interventions based on immersive technology such as virtual reality.

As Sirisha Peyyeti, Co-Founder and CEO of Avika, explains, if someone struggles with, say, an obsessive compulsive disorder or a fear of heights, then they will be exposed to specific trigger factors or ‘situations’ through the use of a VR headset and a software developed by the company .

“We have a situation created for all possible mental health issues,” she says. The therapist has complete control over the VR session, she adds. “They can pause, play, stop and adjust levels of situations.”

This allows therapists to assess the condition of the patient, based on their reactions to various situations and prepare a treatment plan.

Peyyeti, a techie, co-founded the company with her childhood friend Vishal Indla, who is a psychiatrist, and the firm’s medical director Srinivas Atreya (CTO) and Srinivas Pingali (strategic advisor).

For Peyyeti, the idea for the startup was sparked during a visit to Shantivanam, a rehab centre run by Indla in Vijayawada. “Seeing people there from all social strata challenged my misconceptions about mental health and reinforced the idea that technology can be used in this field as an enabler,” she says.

“We developed a mobile app, available both on Android and iOS, which acts as a psycho-educational tool. It attempts to bridge the gap between patient appointments and provide continuity in caregiving. The content is easy to understand and available in several local languages, making health information accessible,” she says.

“We have about 20 clients in different parts of the country, clocking 11,000 VR sessions for about 5,000 patients. We ensure data privacy by not collecting personally identifiable information beyond the mobile number,” Peyyeti says.

Anonymised data from these VR sessions and other interactions help gain insights into the effectiveness of various therapies used for a range of conditions.

The startup has also developed a product called Aura, targeted at corporates and educational institutions, for stress and anxiety management.

Mind hub

Avika recently launched a ‘mind hub’ centre in Hyderabad for those seeking face-to-face consultations with therapists.

The company plans to open at least four more ‘mind hubs’ by the end of the year. It is also looking to expand to tier-II and tier-III cities, such as Hubballi and Visakhapatnam.

The bootstrapped startup has raised a small round of funding from friends and family to develop a workable model. “Now that we have developed a successful model, we would like to go for a fund raise for expansion,” Peyyeti says.