Three University of Bonn researchers have been awarded a Proof of Concept Grant by the European Research Council (ERC), among them Professor Dr. Dominik Bach, a Hertz Professor in the Life and Health Transdisciplinary Research Area (TRA) and Director of the Centre for Artificial Intelligence and Neuroscience (CAIAN) at the University of Bonn. In this new project “NOVA: Non-Verbal Objective VR-Based Diagnostic Assessment for Anxiety Disorders,” Prof. Bach is simulating anxiety situations in order to improve how these conditions are diagnosed.
“Up until now, diagnoses have been based on the subjective information that patients supply themselves,” Bach says, explaining the problem. “They fill in questionnaires that their doctor then interprets. This can distort reality, e.g. due to cultural differences or language barriers.”
Aiming to devise an objective, fully automated and language-independent solution for assessing anxiety disorders, the NOVA team is simulating threat situations in virtual reality environments in order to induce natural behaviors in individuals. The idea is based on the research findings that Bach has been producing since 2018 with the help of an ERC Consolidator Grant.
Read the University's press release here: https://www.uni-bonn.de/en/news/124-2026