A team of researchers from FEHHS and FLAS have secured £299,000 funding from Innovate Mindset XR to develop an Extended Reality (XR) device to support people living with chronic back pain and depression.
Led by principal investigator Professor Jorge Lopes Ramos, with Dr Natalie Bowling and Dr Harry Farmer, Senior Lecturers in Psychology, as co-investigators, their device will combine targeted vibrations to the lower back and synchronised sounds through bone-conducting headphones to help users become more active.
VIVID will be an immersive haptic‑audio tool that helps users gradually build up regular walking activity.
VIVID is expected to take the form of a belt or band worn around the waist - delivering targeted vibration to the lower back, alongside synchronised audio through bone‑conducting headphones to create reassurance, psychological safety, and motivate users to become more active.
Natalie and Harry will co‑design the device with patients and clinicians, drawing on research demonstrating the therapeutic benefits of touch for both physical and mental health.
The funding enables the team to expand their research into chronic lower‑back pain — a condition affecting around 11% of the UK population and which puts sufferers at an increased risk of anxiety and depression and often limiting them from participating in daily activities and social life.
Natalie said: “Receiving this funding from Innovate Mindset XR is a really exciting opportunity for us. The scheme addresses pressing mental health needs by funding the development of immersive therapeutic innovations. I am grateful to be working on such an important research area that has the potential to impact so many people.
"The funding also allows Harry and I to strengthen cross‑faculty collaboration with FLAS colleagues. We're really excited to be working with Jorge Lopes Ramos, Professor of Interactive Theatre and Performance, along with ZU-UK. Jorge and his team's expertise will ensure that our work is an engaging and immersive artistic piece, while also being grounded in scientific literature."
It is fantastic to see our Greenwich researchers taking such an innovative approach to addressing debilitating health conditions that affect so many people’s lives.
