PhoVR: a virtual reality system to treat phobias.

Phobias are a common type of disorder that affect a significant number of people, often in debilitating ways. Treating phobias is not always straightforward and can require significant effort from both the patient and the clinician. We propose a Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET) system for the treatment of phobias that makes use of affordable, consumer-level hardware and software components. The system allows the patient to follow the treatment in the comfort of his or her own home and allows the clinician to supervise and to direct the treatment from a different location via network.