Virtual Reality Lab - Universitat de Barcelona

More than half of the patients who have suffered the amputation of a lower limb will develop a psychological disorder after the surgery. Among the most common we find anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The aim of the study is to investigate whether the body satisfaction is a relevant factor in the development of anxiety after the lower-limb amputation using Virtual Reality and an audio narration.

Thirty-six healthy participants were embodied into two virtual avatars. The first avatar was based on the participant measurments and the second one had a lower limb amputation. The participants listened to two narrative audio, one for each condition. The subjects answered the Body Appreciation Scale (BAS) questionnaire before being immersed in the virtual environment and the Embodiment questionnaire at the end of the experiment.

Age and sex are not relevant factors. However, the relationship between body satisfaction and anxiety with the amputated avatar is statistically significant (p <0.05). The anxiety in the second condition is significantly greater than in the first condition (p <0.001).

This study provides new information about the factors that can cause anxiety on amputated patients. Future research can focus on a virtual exposure-based therapy for amputations using Virtual Reality to reduce the anxiety suffered at this time.