Badalona Serveis Asistencials (BSA) has launched an immersive sensory room to address Alzheimer's disease among users of the El Carme Socio-Health Center (CSSC), which is titled "EMOTIVA, the power of emotion". Sessions are held with the projection of images that generate "a pleasant, stimulating environment that facilitates future therapies", explained the head of the Geriatrics and Palliative Care service of the facility, Anna Ferré, who stressed that it is an "innovative" initiative in the social-health area, at the same time, in the same center, and also with the use of virtual reality, a program is carried out to care for minors with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Ferré highlighted that "emotions come into play, and the patient lets go thanks to a motivating environment." The projections can be of all types, such as images of the users' town or a walk through a familiar environment. Thanks to the tablet, "you can follow the movement with the images" as if the patient were cycling, climbing a mountain or kayaking.
The person in charge of Geriatrics and Palliative Care has indicated that the desire is to open it to more users, but, for now, it has started with small groups with three weekly sessions. "It can also be done with patients who do not have cognitive impairment," Ferré stated.
The arrival of this technology at the CSSC has been possible due to the contribution made by the Badalona Rotary Club. The entity has raised the funds, between 15,000 and 20,000 euros, from the solidarity dinner organized in October 2022.
The center has also designed a treatment to address ASD among minors. But not only directly with patients, but also with families and teachers "so that, through virtual reality, they feel what it is like to live with autism," said the head of the Mental Health and Addictions Service of the BSA. , Esther Lobo.
Lobo has said that this technology can also be used "to control situations that cause anxiety", such as a loud noise that happens on the street, and has highlighted that this therapy can be done at home. On the other hand, he did not rule out that with this project, despite the fact that ASD does not have a specific pharmacological prescription, it will contribute to reducing the consumption of medications among users.
The Badalona Rotary Club will also allocate to this initiative what it collects from this year's solidarity dinner, scheduled for November.
The mayor of Badalona, Xavier Garcia Albiol, accompanied by, among others, the fourth deputy mayor, Rosa del Amo, and the president of the Badalona Rotary Club, Joaquim Azofra, inaugurated the immersive sensory room and learned about the project for children with TORCH.
