Stephen. Liu, B.Li, E.M. Gordon, S. Liu, S.P. Chawla, M. Liu, S. Siegel and Seiji. Liu
Stephen Liu MD( IFGCURE Inc, Santa Monica CA) Bryan Li( IFGCURE Inc, Santa Monica CA) Erlinda Gordan MD( Sarcoma Cancer Center, Santa Monica CA ) Seiya Liu(Harvard University, Cambridge MA) Sant Chawla MD( Sarcoma Cancer Center, Santa Monica CA ) Mika Liu (Stanford University, Palo Alto CA) Steven Siegal MD PhD( USC Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles CA) Seiji Liu( IFGCURE Inc, Santa Monica CA)
Scientific Tracks Abstracts: Clinical Psychiatry
Background: Interventions that enhance positive feelings are crucial for improving quality of life and overall survival of cancer patients. One remedy is the immersive Let’s Relax!TM virtual reality relaxation (VR-R) environment/s designed by IFGcure, to inspire an emotion-focused coping mechanism in cancer patients. Let’s Relax!TM environments are part of the IFG Virtual Wellness CenterTM. Patients & Methods: Twelve normal volunteers and 26 cancer patient volunteers underwent VR-R training and used the Let’s Relax!TM VR-R environment/s for 5-30 minutes, after which patients were asked to fill out a quality of life questionnaire created by IFGcure/Sarcoma Oncology Center. The VR equipment consists of the Oculus Rift Head Mounted Display (HMD) that enables play of an interactive scenario or game that patients can experience from a first-person perspective (i.e., upon entering the interactive scenario, participants are transported into a virtual, 3D world). Results: Safety Analysis: Two normal volunteers and five cancer patients experienced mild motion sickness. Efficacy Analysis shows the impressions that patients reportedly experienced during the VR-R intervention. Conclusions: Taken together, the data support the premise that Let’s Relax!TM VR-R intervention is safe and may be efficacious in improving symptom distress and quality of life of cancer patients. A phase 1/2 study is planned to evaluate the safety and efficacy of the Let’s Relax!TM VR-R intervention in improving quality of life in a larger number of cancer patients.
Stephen Liu MD is a partner in Bio Ventures Investors Fund, Uptick Healthcare Advisors Fund, IFGWorld Investment Fund, all of which are strategically focused on making investments in medical technology and the specialized health care space. He is currently executive Chairman/Founder of IFGCure (www.ifgcure.com), a Virtual Reality application company that focuses in mental and physical wellness, and IFG Fit (www. ifgfit.com), a posture wearable tech company that focuses on physical wellness.. He is also on the board of POC Medical system, a breast cancer diagnostic company. Stephen was a two-term Chairman of the National Association of Chinese American Bankers Association. In 2013 he was elected as a founding board member of the Yale Asia Development Council. He co-authored 7 books, published over 40 peer-reviewed articles, and has given over 100 lectures and presentations in over 25 countries. He was a clinical advisor to Asia J&J and to Stryker and became the director of the bio-skill laboratory while he was an assistant professor at UCLA School of Medicine. His team also commercialized several medical device R&D projects which were later acquired. In 2000 he founded IFG Health Media, a medical education animation company that was also acquired. Stephen holds a B.A. in Biology and Psychology from UCLA and an M.D. from the University of Southern California.
E-mail: stephen@ifgcure.com
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