Public Funding for BFB Labs Ltd

"BfB labs is building new technology which empowers high quality mental health research to be performed at a lower cost and by a larger group than ever before. Health services are unable to meet demand. A flood of health innovations have emerged to meet remaining needs but are startlingly ill-evidenced with less than 1% collecting clinical data of any kind. A critical lack of evidence means providers like the NHS are unable to procure this new wave of innovation without putting patients at risk. Our technology enables substantially cheaper and more efficient applied research in health, guarding patient safety while creating better health outcomes at a lower cost."

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorders in childhood, and untreated childhood anxiety can have a significant impact on employment, income and relationship stability in adult life. Cognitive behavioural therapy is a well-evidenced approach recommended for treating anxiety in children, but it is expensive to deliver, and patients often face long waiting times for treatments. Additionally, children who do receive treatment often do not benefit as much as they could because they do not attend all their therapy sessions and/or do not do the homework exercises that are an important part of the therapy. The purpose of this research is to investigate whether immersive videogames using technologies such as virtual or augmented reality or biofeedback, can be used to provide managed exposure to anxiety triggers (a key aspect of treatment for anxiety). The project aims to combine the latest understanding of anxiety management in young people with what BfB Labs has learned about creating engaging and immersive games to develop a new anxiety management product - fun to use, with high adherence, with evidence base to support use alongside therapy.