Kim Hyungsook, Choi Yoonyoung
HY Digital Healthcare Center, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Data Science, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Front Psychiatry. 2025 Jun 4;16:1554394. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1554394. eCollection 2025.
Digital therapeutics (DTx) require structured methodologies to translate evidence-based psychotherapy into immersive digital formats. In response to this need, this study proposes a practical framework for the digital transformation of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) into an interactive virtual reality (VR) system.
DTx-ACT, designed as a therapeutic intervention for depression, is a VR-based system that delivers ACT through an immersive virtual experience. Its development followed five structured phases: preliminary research, design, development, advancement, and commercialization. The original ACT protocol was modularized into VR environments using the Session Structuring System (SSS) model. To enhance user engagement, gamification and multimodal arts strategies were incorporated. As part of the development process, evaluation metrics were defined to assess both clinical effectiveness and user interaction.
The final system comprises five immersive VR sessions, each lasting 6 to 12 minutes. These modules incorporate ACT metaphors, interactive tasks, and multisensory feedback to enhance therapeutic engagement. To support the digital transformation of ACT, three core components were established: (1) an evidence-based therapeutic protocol, (2) interactive VR elements-including gamification and multimodal arts-based guidance, and (3) a data-driven evaluation framework. Evaluation metrics, derived from a pilot study, were integrated into the system, which collects clinical and interaction data-such as real-time behavioral patterns and sensor-based information-to enable comprehensive evaluation.
Based on this development process, we propose a practical framework for designing interactive VR-based DTx. This framework bridges clinical structure, creative engagement, and real-time evaluation to support personalized and scalable applications in digital mental healthcare. It contributes to the standardization of digital transformation in evidence-based therapy and offers a transferable model for future therapeutic content development.
数字疗法（DTx）需要结构化方法将循证心理治疗转化为沉浸式数字形式。为满足这一需求，本研究提出了一个将接纳与承诺疗法（ACT）数字转化为交互式虚拟现实（VR）系统的实用框架。
DTx-ACT是一种针对抑郁症的治疗干预措施，是一个基于VR的系统，通过沉浸式虚拟体验提供ACT。其开发遵循五个结构化阶段：初步研究、设计、开发、推进和商业化。原始的ACT协议使用会话结构化系统（SSS）模型模块化到VR环境中。为了提高用户参与度，纳入了游戏化和多模态艺术策略。作为开发过程的一部分，定义了评估指标以评估临床效果和用户交互。
最终系统包括五个沉浸式VR会话，每个会话持续6至12分钟。这些模块融入了ACT隐喻、交互式任务和多感官反馈，以增强治疗参与度。为支持ACT的数字转化，建立了三个核心组件：（1）循证治疗方案，（2）交互式VR元素，包括游戏化和基于多模态艺术的指导，以及（3）数据驱动的评估框架。来自试点研究的评估指标被整合到系统中，该系统收集临床和交互数据，如实时行为模式和基于传感器的信息，以进行全面评估。
基于这一开发过程，我们提出了一个设计基于交互式VR的DTx的实用框架。该框架弥合了临床结构、创造性参与和实时评估，以支持数字心理保健中的个性化和可扩展应用。它有助于循证治疗中数字转化的标准化，并为未来治疗内容开发提供了一个可转移的模型。
