We are The SwitchVR, a patient centered, MS patient created digital therapeutics company, dedicated to developing innovative, research driven, non-pharmaceutical approaches to managing MS symptoms.
We believe that MS patients have a whole lot of potential to positively impact health outcomes. This potential has long been overlooked in traditional Western practices. Our underlying mission is to offer safe, complements to existing treatments for MS patients and to empower the patient to be at the helm of their self-care. There is a world of opportunity for patients with MS.
#freeyourmindMS.
There are approximately 400,000 individuals with MS in the US and 2.3 million worldwide.
Spending on Alternatives:
We cannot ignore the fact that people with chronic disease use alternative treatments to a considerable extent, and that many of them seem to benefit from doing so.
-Lasse Skovgaard, industrial PhD candidate from the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences and the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Society.
About a third of Americans seek help for their health in a place that is outside their doctor's office.
-National Institute of Health
According to the latest Health and Sickness Study from the Danish National Institute of Public Health (NIPH) in 2010, Among MS patients, the use of alternative medicine has been growing steadily over the past fifteen years. Source: Barnes PM, Bloom B, Nahin R. CDC National Health Statistics Report #12. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use Among Adults and Children: United States, 2007. December 2008
The SwitchVR team believes in the natural power of our bodies to self-heal. We hope to offer an approach that rebuilds & strengthens the mind/body connection. An empowered, active, hopeful and engaged mind can effect change in the body. Our studies and methodology are informed by both age old eastern practices that cultivate mind/body harmony and current, innovative technologies.
Our proposed solution is TheraChi, our meticulously curated online video library of Qigong movements and breathing, meditations, and guided visualizations from some of the best and most accomplished teachers. TheraChi was built for use in our two studies. These studies are the foundation for the launch of our TheraChi consumer products.
TheraChi is:
Created and developed by The SwitchVR team, TheraChi is our online library of Qigong movements and breathing, meditations, and guided visualizations from some of the best and most accomplished teachers. We have built two video libraries, one for use in our pilot study and one for use in our clinical trial.
All videos are online and accessible from any computer or smartphone. Participants can practice entirely from the safety of their homes.
Pending clinical study outcomes, our TheraChi library will transform into our line of TheraChi VR therapeutics.
The TheraChi Pilot study is a usability/feasibility study. What that means is we are using a small sample (20-40 subjects) over a short period (2 weeks) to collect data about the patient experience of our study design and the usability of our online library. Subjects will be randomly assigned to groups based on length of practice (10 min, 20 min, & 30 min video playlists) and will choose if the practice is seated, standing stationary or standing/moving.This information will help us refine our protocol for the upcoming larger clinical study.
This study will be conducted in partnership with iConquer MS & Virginia Tech.
Our pilot study is a precursor to our TheraChi Clinical Study - a larger (between 250-4000 subjects) and longer (6 weeks) trial.
All study participants will be recruited from iConquerMS.
iConquerMS will host our library, all surveys and questionnaires.
Study participants will be expected to complete a battery of tests at the onset and end of the 6 weeks, a daily repeated Qigong practice, and short surveys before and after the daily practice.
This study will be conducted in partnership with iConquerMS & Virginia Tech.
Dr. Hirsch was officially diagnosed with MS in 2008 (after struggling with symptoms for 3-4 years prior). In an effort to transform this diagnosis into something enabling, not disabling, Dr. Hirsch founded UP, a comprehensive treatment planning service in 2016. Unsatisfied with traditional treatment options and a strong believer in a holistic approach to MS, Dr. Hirsch took this a step further. With two partners, she created The SwitchVR in 2017, a small start-up dedicated to using technology to develop innovative, evidence-based methods to manage MS. Dr. Hirsch is also a clinical psychologist & published author and has written extensively about her experiences with MS.
Reuben’s creative and technical path has led him to work as a professional creative technology consultant for fortune 500 companies, work as an engineer at an aerospace company, and co-found several do good type tech companies. He has developed VR game demos for movie studios, designed with nearly every tool in adobe creative suite for professional clients, 3D printed and designed products for Netflix, studied five programming languages. He also programs arduino, raspberry pi, and cuts and designs his own circuit boards with his personal CNC machine, and much more. Reuben currently works professionally as a freelance prototyper and inventor in Los Angeles.
Dr. Polys is the Director of Visual Computing with Virginia Tech Research Computing Group and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Computer Science. He is a member of ACM, IEEE Computer Society, and is elected Director and President of the Web3D Consortium.
Dr. Jahnke is the director and chief instructor of the Institute Of Integral Qigong & Tai Chi in Santa Barbara, California and a co-founder and recent chairperson of the board of the National Qigong Association. With almost 30 years of clinical practice as a physician of acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, Dr. Jahnke has emerged as a key spokesperson for TaiChi and Qigong and is a master of these arts. He has presented at major conferences on advances in Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM) throughout the US. Dr. Jahnke has published two prominent books, The Healer Within (1997) and The Healing Promise of Qi (2002).
Dr. Cohen is a world-renowned health educator and Qigong Grandmaster with more than 50 years of experience. He is the author of the internationally acclaimed book The Way of Qigong : The Art and Science of Energy Healing (Random House), best-selling audio and video courses (Sounds True), and more than 200 journal articles. Dr. Cohen is a leader in the dialogue between ancient wisdom and modern science. He was able to demonstrate extraordinary physiologic states (evidenced through EEG, body potential, and bio-electric fields) as one of 9 “exceptional healers” studied in the Menninger Clinic’s Copper Wall Project. Probably the first Qigong practitioner in the West to treat physician-referred patients, his sponsors have included the American Cancer Society, the Mayo Clinic, Health Canada, and numerous hospitals, medical schools, conferences, and cultural organizations. In 1994, Ken was chosen as keynote and sole representative of Chinese medicine at the World Congress on Energy Healing in Switzerland. His work has been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, Time, Bottom Line, and on National Public Radio. He has taught more than 40,000 students.
iConquerMS (www.iconquerms.org) iConquerMS™ is a research network composed of people with MS and people who care about MS, who contribute health data, biosamples, knowledge and ideas to enable and accelerate MS research. Data, biosamples and insights contributed by iConquerMS™ participants under informed consent are available to researchers investigating topics important to people with MS. Research topics can include treatments and outcomes, lifestyle and activities, quality of life, employment and finances, health care, biomarkers of MS, and many other topics. iConquerMS™ was created by the nonprofit, Accelerated Cure Project.
Virginia Tech (www.research.vt.edu) Virginia Tech is a leading research institution and manages a research portfolio of $450 million. It is a Top 50 ranked research institution and ranked top 5% in the nation for research expenditures.
