Nature and birdsong in VR increase motivation for training and have a calming effect, not only for the elderly or the frail, but also for top trained astronauts like Andreas Mogensen.
SYNCSENSE® is an award-winning digital exercise device that transforms boring exercise equipment into meaningful natural experiences, making exercise for the elderly and people with disabilities fun and motivating. The VR solution is an evidence-based tool for hospitals and municipalities used by therapists and care staff nationwide to support care and rehabilitation efforts in a new and smart way.
The purpose is to promote physical activity and strengthen mental health with a view to reducing institutional and hospital-related complications due to long-term physical inactivity, immobilization and social isolation. We develop solutions for the digital rehabilitation and digital physiotherapy of the future.
Ane-Lise Klepsch is a resident at the Holmegårdsparken Nursing Home in Gentofte, and she loves to train using VR. 'The dog needs to be walked in the morning, noon, and evening,' which motivates Ane-Lise to engage in bike training several times a day (Image: SYNCSENSE ApS).
Unfortunately, many elderly and people with disabilities are cut off from 'going on adventures' for various reasons. They are often very physically inactive and socially isolated. This could be due to a lack of mobility, strength - or maybe because they are hospitalized with a serious illness.
With lifelike virtual adventures in nature, our VR solution breathes new life into boring and underutilized exercise equipment. The VR solution increases motivation to exercise, improves exercise retention, and can facilitate self-training. We have also seen examples where the VR solution can reduce outwardly aggressive behavior and regulate arousal levels. These effects collectively contribute to increased enjoyment of exercise and quality of life for a very vulnerable and overlooked group.
VR exercise
increases quality of life
VR exercise frees up staff
and saves money
VR exercise increases motivation & physical activity level
VR exercise and nature shorten hospital stay
Astronaut Andreas Mogensen live from the ISS on February 27, 2024, where he shares his experiences from the VR experiment on the Huginn mission (see ESA's video HERE). SYNCSENSE ApS has contributed to that part of the VR experiment, which is about how VR can support and motivate bicycle training (Image: ESA/NASA).
Astronaut Andreas Mogensen, along with the rest of the ESA and NASA crew on the International Space Station (ISS), has investigated how VR can improve mental and physical health (read feedback HERE).
"It's pretty amazing that our VR experiences have helped Andreas Mogensen, ESA, and the NASA crew on the International Space Station. That Andreas Mogensen says that VR cycling has become one of his favorite activities is fantastic. That a top-trained astronaut 'also' finds that VR has a strong motivational effect on training is actually a super exciting result. It confirms the technology and the concept we have been working with since 2018 here on Earth, where our primary target group is frail patients, the elderly, and people with disabilities. They indeed also love to VR cycle. We are in the process of expanding the 'VR cycling' concept to Danish as well as foreign hospitals, rehabilitation units, and nursing homes."
At SYNCSENSE ApS, we aim to make the world a more fun and healthier place for society's most weakened and inactive elderly and people with disabilities, whose health deteriorates severely as a consequence of physical inactivity and social isolation. These overlooked consequences have only become more evident during the Coronavirus pandemic. In a time when the elderly generation is growing drastically and the pressure on resources in the elderly and disability area is increasing day by day – the need also grows to rethink welfare and the way we create new solutions.
Physical inactivity is today an ignored and global problem. Unfortunately, several studies show that it is not unusual for elderly patients and citizens to spend between 80 to 98% of their time each day physically inactive during their hospital stay or residence. Physical inactivity has serious and well-documented consequences on bones, muscles, and the cardiovascular system. Alone in Denmark, physical inactivity causes more than 50,000 unnecessary hospital admissions for the elderly annually. The treatment and care of physical inactivity cost the Danish society nearly 5 billion kroner annually and also cause more than 5,000 deaths.
The problem is paradoxical since the healthcare system has invested in a variety of different exercise equipment to facilitate physical activity. Today, existing exercise equipment is unfortunately not utilized well enough, as it seems boring for patients, citizens, and healthcare staff alike. There is currently no simple solution to transform boring exercise equipment into fun and meaningful experiences.
We solve this problem with SYNCSENSE®, which consists of a patented intelligent motion sensor and a VR solution that makes the exercise equipment fun and motivating. Nature and birdsong in VR increase motivation for exercise and have a calming effect. VR exercise with SYNCSENSE® helps the elderly and people with disabilities to become more self-reliant and has a positive effect on mood, health, and quality of life. The VR solution reuses and optimizes the utilization of the existing "boring" exercise equipment without expensive and time-consuming conversion. It is a simple and easy-to-operate intervention that makes exercise fun and motivating. VR exercise also supports healthcare staff in solving the core task in an easier and smarter way, so resources can be used where they are most needed. Implementing the VR solution thus creates savings in the need for care and rehabilitation and can potentially reduce the length of hospital stay and minimize the risk of sequelae, new, and readmission.
We humbly contribute a part of a larger solution to solve the UN's 3rd global goal. We improve the physical and mental health of the elderly and people with disabilities by making exercise fun and motivating. We do this by reusing and optimizing the utilization of the existing "boring" exercise equipment and combining it with VR. The global development goals are designed to be a plan for achieving a better and more sustainable future for all, and we are proud to take an active responsibility for our future. We believe that sustainability is about more than the environmental aspect. For us, it's also about developing a solution that is designed to support inclusion and accessibility for everyone. We take pride in creating sustainable social change by helping the most vulnerable and susceptible people to live a long healthy life - leaving no one behind.
SYNCSENSE® has received several awards, prizes, and nominations.
SYNCSENSE is among those across the world, selected as international Catalyst winners in the Healthy Longevity Global Competition founded by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine. The competition will accelerate their research and innovation in healthy longevity. “This diverse and cross-disciplinary group is helping improve the physical, mental, and social well-being of people as they age”.
The award is part of a multiyear, multistage, and multimillion-dollar international competition seeking potential breakthrough innovations aiming to extend human health and function later in life. SYNCSENSE is chosen among +1500 applicants from 50 countries.
Read more about NAM and their 8 global partners.
"Although VR technology is not new, it is impressive to see how it has been applied to a target group that has traditionally been difficult to engage digitally.
This VR project is an example of how an older technology can still be used innovatively to create a real positive change in society. Its ability to improve the lives and well-being of the elderly and disabled through rehabilitation makes it an extremely worthy recipient.”
"The Cardiology Department B and SYNCSENSE win the RAP prize 2022 at OUH’s innovation day – for the innovative solution: VR headsets as a digital training intervention for hospitalized heart patients.
The RAP prize is awarded for a 'Relevant and Ambitious Idea', implemented at Odense University Hospital and Svendborg Hospital, supporting both OUH’s innovation strategy and our code 'Patient First'."
The winning solution must be able to present (preliminary) results of the solution's effect and value for OUH's patients and organization and that the solution has the potential for scaling up and can benefit more people at OUH and/or in the rest of the Southern Denmark Region.
The 100 clinicians present voted and decided this year's innovation prize.
"SYNCSENSE wins the Social Impact award because the solution improves the course of illness/daily life of isolated and inactive patients and citizens."
See NHL’s team, board, and circle of partners of hospitals and municipalities
"This solution is a prime example of how Virtual Reality technology can actually be designed to help inactive elderly and people with disabilities to explore and get physical stimulation. It’s pretty remarkable to see people with mobility-impaired conditions embark upon journeys while experiencing the sensation of physical activity. Not least because the virtual solution has proven to improve the well-being of users while reducing the physical workload of providers. That’s a proper life-enhancing solution."
See all 17 jurymembers.
"SYNCSENSE and their training technology show great potential for how technology and artificial intelligence can be used in a smart way to create value for patients, hospitals, and society. It has significant importance for businesses and thus for Denmark if we manage to make artificial intelligence more widespread. Here, one can highlight the way SYNCSENSE has worked with practically utilizing artificial intelligence to create direct and concrete utility value for their users. SYNCSENSE wins not only because their product concretely solves a relevant health problem with great potential but also because it shows a potential for how technology and artificial intelligence can be used in a smart way to create value for patients, hospitals, and society."
See all 5 jurymembers.
Read more about VR training by clicking on one of the following target groups.
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