- The Pentagon has spent $4m (£2.1m) to create virtual
reality "video games" that simulate combat situations in Iraq,
to help treat traumatised soldiers on their return to the US.
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- Thousands of the troops are suffering post-traumatic
stress disorder (PTSD). As part of the scheme, military doctors will measure
their reaction to the combat simulation through heartbeat, blood pressure,
breathing rate and skin temperature.
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- Doctors hope the data will help them better diagnose
PTSD and suggest appropriate treatment. They also hope the project, which
took three years to develop at the San Diego Naval Medical Centre in California,
will have civilian uses.
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- Dr James Spira, a staff psychologist at the centre, said
that monitoring troops' reactions could help them gain a better control
over their behaviour in certain situations. "The virtual reality environment
is clearly not the same as being there," he said. "We don't want
it to be the same as being there. We want it to be semi-realistic. We want
it to be enough to trigger the thoughts and feelings so they can control
those."
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- An article in the New England Journal of Medicine said
nearly 17 per cent of all US troops returning from Iraq had reported mental
illness of some type relating to combat. Officials said there had been
an increase in broken marriages, car accidents, fights, and alcohol or
drug abuse. Many troops report problems dealing with their anger and frustration
on return to a non-combat environment.
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- In addition to the visual simulations, troops taking
part in the project wear headphones into which the sound of American military
helicopters is played, along with that of sniper fire and mortar rounds.
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- ©2005 Independent News & Media (UK) Ltd.
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- http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/story.jsp?story=631891
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