Investigation of Thermal Perception and Emotional Response in Augmented Reality using Digital Biomarkers: A Pilot Study

Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is an evidence-based psychotherapy that helps patients learn skills to regulate emotions as a central strategy to improve life functioning. However, DBT skills require a long-term and consistent commitment, typically to group therapy over the course of months. Patients who might benefit may find this approach undesirable; it can be challenging to transfer learning from therapy sessions to daily life, and there is no way to personalize skills learning based on individualized needs. In this paper we propose the use of Augmented Reality (AR) and digital biomarkers to enhance DBT skill exercises to be more immersive and personalized by using physiological data as real-time feedback. To explore the feasibility of AR-based DBT skill implementation, we developed AR-based DBT skill exercises that manipulate the user's thermal perception by visualizing different thermal information in holograms. We conducted a user study to evaluate the impact of AR in changing the thermal perception and emotional states of the user with an analysis of physiological data collected from wearable devices.