Virtual Reality Turns Games Into Treatments

Joe O'Connor, 62, who lives near Worcester, Mass., was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease six years ago. Exercise is one of the only things that slows the progress of the chronic disease, so he works out avidly -- often in a virtual reality world. He dances. He plays tennis. He enjoys games that help him work on his short-term memory and hand-eye coordination. "VR has been a very big help with Parkinson's, both in slowing the progression and in helping me calm down," O'Connor says.

Virtual reality has been around for years to help treat physical ailments and improve mental health, but it took lighter, less expensive headsets that could be used without a computer for VR to really take off. The headsets can now cost hundreds instead of thousands of dollars. The programs consist of games and scenarios that headsetwearing patients manipulate either through hand-held