# US 12,211,607 B2 · Management of psychiatric or mental conditions using digital or augmented reality with personalized exposure progression

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- Number: US 12,211,607 B2
- Document ID: US12211607B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/073,407
- Filed: 2022-12-01
- Published: 2023-06-01
- Granted: 2025-01-28
- Earliest claimed: 2021-12-01
- Assignees: BehaVR, LLC; FrontAct Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: BehaVR, LLC; FrontAct Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Aprilia Thompson; Brandon Hedges; Christina Zaluski; Eleanor Anderson; Georgia Mitsi; Joyce Tsai; Morgan Taylor; Risa Weisberg Hawkins; Sarah Zadd; Todd Grinnell
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12211607B2

## CPC

- G02B 27/0172: {characterised by optical features}
- G16H 20/70: relating to mental therapies, e.g. psychological therapy or autogenous training
- A61B 5/02438: {with portable devices, e.g. worn by the patient}
- A61B 5/163: {by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change}
- A61B 5/165: {Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety}
- A61B 5/4848: {Monitoring or testing the effects of treatment, e.g. of medication}
- A61B 5/7275: {Determining trends in physiological measurement data; Predicting development of a medical condition based on physiological measurements, e.g. determining a risk factor}
- A61B 5/7282: {Event detection, e.g. detecting unique waveforms indicative of a medical condition (cough events A61B5/0823; seizures A61B5/4094; sleep apnoea A61B5/4818)}
- A61M 21/02: for inducing sleep or relaxation, e.g. by direct nerve stimulation, hypnosis, analgesia (for massage A61H; electrotherapy A61N, e.g. applying alternating or intermittent electric currents for producing anaesthesia A61N1/36021)
- G06F 3/011: {Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00)}
- G16H 10/20: for electronic clinical trials or questionnaires
- G16H 30/40: for processing medical images, e.g. editing
- G16H 40/67: for remote operation
- G16H 50/20: for computer-aided diagnosis, e.g. based on medical expert systems
- G16H 50/30: for calculating health indices; for individual health risk assessment
- G16H 50/70: for mining of medical data, e.g. analysing previous cases of other patients
- A61B 2505/09: Rehabilitation or training
- A61M 2021/0022: {by the tactile sense, e.g. vibrations}
- A61M 2021/005: {images, e.g. video}
- A61M 2205/3313: used specific wavelengths
- A61M 2205/332: Force measuring means
- A61M 2205/3375: Acoustical, e.g. ultrasonic, measuring means
- A61M 2209/088: on the body
- A61M 2210/06: Head
- A61M 2230/04: Heartbeat characteristics, e.g. ECG, blood pressure modulation
- A61M 2230/10: Electroencephalographic signals
- A61M 2230/14: Electro-oculogram [EOG]
- A61M 2230/30: Blood pressure (A61M2230/04 takes precedence)
- A61M 2230/50: Temperature
- A61M 2230/63: Motion, e.g. physical activity
- A61M 2230/65: Impedance, e.g. conductivity, capacity
- G02B 2027/0141: {characterised by the informative content of the display}
- G06F 2203/011: Emotion or mood input determined on the basis of sensed human body parameters such as pulse, heart rate or beat, temperature of skin, facial expressions, iris, voice pitch, brain activity patterns
- G10L 25/66: for extracting parameters related to health condition (detecting or measuring for diagnostic purposes A61B5/00)
- G02B: OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
- G16H: HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS, i.e. INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR THE HANDLING OR PROCESSING OF MEDICAL OR HEALTHCARE DATA
- A61B: DIAGNOSIS; SURGERY; IDENTIFICATION (usefulness limited to only animals A61D)
- A61M: DEVICES FOR INTRODUCING MEDIA INTO, OR ONTO, THE BODY (introducing media into or onto the bodies of animals A61D7/00; means for inserting tampons A61F13/26; devices for administering food or medicines orally A61J; containers for collecting, storing or administering blood or medical fluids A61J1/05); DEVICES FOR TRANSDUCING BODY MEDIA OR FOR TAKING MEDIA FROM THE BODY (surgery A61B; chemical aspects of surgical articles A61L); DEVICES FOR PRODUCING OR ENDING SLEEP OR STUPOR {(Electrotherapy, e.g. producing anaesthesia by the use of alternating or intermittent currents A61N1/36021)}
- G06F: ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING (computer systems based on specific computational models G06N)
- G10L: SPEECH ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES OR SPEECH SYNTHESIS; SPEECH RECOGNITION; SPEECH OR VOICE PROCESSING TECHNIQUES; SPEECH OR AUDIO CODING OR DECODING

## Abstract

Systems and methods for implementing an exposure progression that improves an ability of a subject to manage a psychiatric or mental condition of the subject are provided. An exposure progression includes a plurality of categories in a hierarchical order. Each category is associated with one or more experiences, and each experience is associated with a digital reality scene that manifests a challenge. In some embodiments, the hierarchical order is generated or modified dynamically based at least in part on the level of success that a subject has had in one or more challenges, producing an exposure progression that it not only tailored to each subject but also with personalized timing and/or nature of the exposure practice.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for implementing an exposure progression that improves an ability of a subject to manage a social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject, the method comprising:
at a computer system associated with the subject, the computer system comprising one or more processors, a wearable display, a plurality of sensors, and a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory comprising one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, the one or more programs singularly or collectively comprising instructions for:
(A) generating, in electronic form, from an assessment data store, a first assessment for display at the wearable display, wherein the first assessment comprises a first set of prompts that elicits a response from the subject;
(B) determining if a plurality of assessment responses provided by the subject responsive to the first assessment satisfies one or more authorization criterion, wherein
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies an authorization criterion in the one or more authorization criterion, the one or more programs singularly or collectively obtains a baseline characteristic of the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject and an identification of a first set of categories for the subject, and
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies no authorization criteria in the one or more authorization criterion, repeating the generating (A) and determining (B) for one or more prompts in the first set of prompts;
(C) forming an initial instance of a corresponding exposure progression for the subject in accordance with the identification of the first set of categories, wherein:
the first set of categories is selected from a plurality of categories,
each respective category in the plurality of categories (i) is directed to improving a particular ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject, (ii) is associated with a corresponding plurality of proposed experiences, and (iii) is associated with at least one respective gate criterion in a plurality of gate criteria, and
for each respective category in the plurality of categories, each respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences (i) is associated with a corresponding virtual reality scene, in a corresponding plurality of virtual reality scenes, that manifests a corresponding challenge, in a corresponding plurality of challenges, designed to evoke the social anxiety disorder of the subject during the respective proposed experience of the respective category, and (ii) is associated with at least one threshold, in a plurality of thresholds, for the corresponding challenge of the respective proposed experience, and
the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression comprises a first sequence of virtual reality events comprising an order of a first category and a second category in the first set of categories, wherein the first and second is selected from the group consisting of: an exposure category, a cognitive reframing therapy category, and a mindfulness category;
(D) presenting, on the wearable display, the first sequence of virtual reality events comprising a first virtual reality scene that manifests a first challenge designed for a first proposed experience of the first category in the first set of categories through a first plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, a second virtual reality scene that manifests a second challenge designed for a second proposed experience of the second category in the first set of categories different from the first category through a second plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, and a second assessment comprising a second set of prompts different from the first set of prompts in accordance with the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression;
(E) obtaining, concurrent with the presenting (D), a first plurality of data elements, the first plurality of data elements comprising a first set of data elements, from a subset of sensors in the plurality of sensors, wherein the first set of data elements is selected in accordance with the first sequence of virtual reality events, and wherein the subset of sensors comprises a first sensor that captures at least one data element in waveform associated with the subject when the subject is completing the first challenge in the first virtual reality scene and a second sensor that captures at least one data element associated with the subject when the subject is completing the second challenge in the second virtual reality scene, and wherein the obtaining (E) comprises transcribing the at least one data element in waveform, thereby obtaining a vocal feature associated with the subject when the subject is completing the first challenge in the first virtual reality scene;
(F) determining:
(i) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies the at least one threshold associated with the first proposed experience for the first challenge and the at least one threshold associated with the second proposed experience for the second challenge, wherein each of the at least one threshold comprises a threshold to assess whether a respective challenge is successfully completed by satisfying the at least one threshold associated with a corresponding proposed experience for the respective challenge, and wherein the first plurality of data elements comprises a first subset of data elements captured by the first sensor,
(ii) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies a corresponding first threshold baseline characteristic defined by the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression,
(iii) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category is satisfied, and
(iv) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category is satisfied;
(G) forming an updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression, wherein:
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise a third category in the plurality of categories for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a second sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the first sequence of virtual reality events, and
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are not satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise either of the first category or the second category for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a third sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the second sequence of virtual reality events and the first sequence of virtual reality events, wherein the forming (G) is based at least in part on an outcome of the determining (F);
(H) presenting, on the wearable display, either the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events, thereby implementing the exposure progression that improves the ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject; and
(I) obtaining, concurrent with the presenting (H), a second plurality of data elements, the first plurality of data elements comprising a first set of data elements, from the subset of sensors in the plurality of sensors when the subject is completing the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first sequence of virtual reality events is originally arranged in the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression that is set by (i) a system administrator, (ii) the subject, (iii) a health care worker associated with the subject, (iv) a model, or (v) a combination thereof.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, further comprising:
(J) presenting, on the wearable display prior to the presenting (D), a graph to represent the initial instance of the exposure progression, wherein the graph comprises a plurality of nodes and a plurality of edges and wherein, for each respective node in the plurality of nodes, the graph further comprises a corresponding plurality of experience graphics displayed adjacent to the respective node, wherein:
each respective node in the plurality of nodes (i) corresponds to a respective category in the plurality of categories, (ii) is associated with the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences associated with the respective category corresponding to the respective node, and (iii) is associated with the at least one respective gate criterion in the plurality of gate criteria associated with the respective category corresponding to the respective node,
for each respective node in the plurality of nodes, each respective experience graphic in the corresponding plurality of experience graphics (i) corresponds to a respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences associated with the respective category corresponding to the respective node, and (ii) is associated with the at least one threshold in the plurality of thresholds for the corresponding challenge of the respective proposed experience,
each respective node in the plurality of nodes is connected, by an edge in the plurality of edges, to at least one other node in the plurality of nodes, and
each respective edge in the plurality of edges represents a progression within the graph between a respective initial node and a respective subsequent node in the graph upon successful completion by a subject of a required number of corresponding challenges associated with the respective initial node.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The method of claim 2, wherein the forming (G) comprises:
assessing whether a category immediately subsequent to the first category in the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression is appropriate for the subject to perform next; and
presenting, when the immediately subsequent category in the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression is appropriate for the subject to perform next, the immediately subsequent category in the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression as the third category for the subject to perform.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of claim 4, wherein the forming (G) further comprises:
recommending, when the immediately subsequent category in the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression is inappropriate for the subject to perform next, the first category or the second category for the subject to perform next.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first sensor is a recorder, and the first subset of data elements comprises a temporal data element, a spectral data element, a cepstral data element, an entropy data element, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first subset of data elements captured by the first sensor is stored in a corresponding user profile, thereby allowing a replay of the first subset of data elements after completion of the first virtual reality scene.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(K) receiving, in electronic form a second plurality of data elements associated with the subject, wherein the second plurality of data elements comprises a second plurality of data elements associated with an initial psychiatric or mental condition of the subject, wherein the corresponding threshold baseline characteristic is formed by the second plurality of data elements.

### Claim 9 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(L) obtaining, from the first sensor, a second plurality of data elements when or before initiating the presenting (D), wherein the corresponding threshold baseline characteristic is formed by the second plurality of data elements.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(M) repeating, when a gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category is not satisfied, the presenting (D), the obtaining (E), and the determining (F) one or more times for challenges of other proposed experiences in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences associated with the first category.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(N) recommending, when the first challenge is determined to be unsuccessfully completed by failing to satisfy the at least one threshold associated with the first proposed experience for the first challenge, a challenge of another proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences for the first category for the subject to perform next, wherein the recommending (N) is presented, in a text, a graphic, an audio, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The method of claim 11, wherein the recommended challenge poses an equal or less challenging challenge than the first challenge of the first category, is the same first challenge designed for the first proposed experience of the first category, a challenge designed for a different proposed experience of the first category, or a challenge designed for a proposed experience of a different category in the plurality of categories.

### Claim 13 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising:
(O) presenting, on the wearable display prior to the determining (F), the second assessment comprising a subjective evaluation option; and
(P) performing, in response to selection of the subjective evaluation option, a subjective evaluation,
wherein the determining (F) is based, at least in part, on an outcome of the subjective evaluation.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the subjective evaluation is based on a Minimal Clinically Important Difference (MCID), a Clinical Global Impression Scale of Improvement (CGI), a Patient Global Impression Scale of Improvement (PGI), a Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), a Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ), or a combination thereof.

### Claim 15 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the determining (F) further comprises determining whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies a second threshold in the at least one threshold.

### Claim 16 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one respective gate criterion comprises a medical practitioner gate criterion associated with an approval, from a medical practitioner associated with the subject, of the category in the plurality of categories corresponding to the at least one respective gate criterion.

### Claim 17 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one respective gate criterion comprises an arrangement gate criterion associated with an order of one or more categories in the plurality of categories.

### Claim 18 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein a gate criterion associated with one category in the plurality of categories specifies a condition that is to be satisfied by the subject prior to advancement to another category in the plurality of categories.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The method of claim 18, wherein a respective gate criterion of a respective category in the plurality of categories is set by (i) a system administrator, (ii) the subject, (iii) a model, or (iv) a health care worker associated with the subject.

### Claim 20 (depends on 19)

The method of claim 19, wherein
a respective gate criterion of a first category in the plurality of categories is set by a system administrator or a health care worker associated with the subject, and
a respective gate criterion of a second category in the plurality of categories is set by the subject.

### Claim 21 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one threshold of the first proposed experience is an eye contact threshold, a heart rate threshold, an assertiveness threshold, a decibel level threshold, a pitch threshold, an utterance threshold, a word threshold, or a sentiment analysis criterion that manifests the corresponding challenge designed for the first proposed experience associated with the first category.

### Claim 22 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one threshold of the first proposed experience is an utterance threshold, wherein the utterance threshold comprises a minimum number of utterances, a maximum number of utterances, a required increase of the number of utterances, a required decrease of the number of utterances, or a combination thereof.

### Claim 23 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the first category is a mindfulness category or an exposure category and the second category is a cognitive reframing category.

### Claim 24 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, further comprising administering:
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are satisfied, the second sequence of virtual reality events, and
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are not satisfied, some or all of the first sequence of virtual reality events.

### Claim 25 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the corresponding first threshold baseline characteristic is a comparison of the first set of data elements against a baseline of the subject obtained, prior to the obtaining (A).

### Claim 26 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the corresponding challenge manifested by the corresponding virtual reality scene for each respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences for the exposure category comprises a fear inducing conflict.

### Claim 27 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the corresponding challenge manifested by the corresponding virtual reality scene for each respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences for the cognitive reframing category comprises disrupting a first cognitive pattern associated with the subject with a formation of a second cognitive reframing pattern different from the first cognitive framing pattern.

### Claim 28 (depends on 1)

The method of claim 1, wherein the corresponding challenge manifested by the corresponding virtual reality scene for each respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences for the mindfulness category comprises modulating a perception of control for the subject.

### Claim 29

A computer system for implementing an exposure progression that improves an ability of a subject to manage a social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject, the computer system comprising one or more processors, a wearable display, a plurality of sensors, and a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory comprising one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors, thereby causing the computer system to perform a method comprising:
(A) generating, in electronic form, from an assessment data store, a first assessment for display at the wearable display, wherein the first assessment comprises a first set of prompts that elicits a response from the subject;
(B) determining if a plurality of assessment responses provided by the subject responsive to the first assessment satisfies one or more authorization criterion, wherein
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies an authorization criterion in the one or more authorization criterion, the one or more programs singularly or collectively obtains a baseline characteristic of the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject and an identification of a first set of categories for the subject, and
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies no authorization criteria in the one or more authorization criterion, repeating the generating (A) and determining (B) for one or more prompts in the first set of prompts;
(C) forming an initial instance of a corresponding exposure progression for the subject in accordance with the identification of the first set of categories, wherein:
the first set of categories is selected from a plurality of categories,
each respective category in the plurality of categories (i) is directed to improving a particular ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject, (ii) is associated with a corresponding plurality of proposed experiences, and (iii) is associated with at least one respective gate criterion in a plurality of gate criteria, and
for each respective category in the plurality of categories, each respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences (i) is associated with a corresponding virtual reality scene, in a corresponding plurality of virtual reality scenes, that manifests a corresponding challenge, in a corresponding plurality of challenges, designed to evoke the social anxiety disorder of the subject during the respective proposed experience of the respective category, and (ii) is associated with at least one threshold, in a plurality of thresholds, for the corresponding challenge of the respective proposed experience, and
the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression comprises a first sequence of virtual reality events comprising an order of a first category and a second category in the first set of categories, wherein the first and second is selected from the group consisting of: an exposure category, a cognitive reframing therapy category, and a mindfulness category;
(D) presenting, on the wearable display, the first sequence of virtual reality events comprising a first virtual reality scene that manifests a first challenge designed for a first proposed experience of the first category in the first set of categories through a first plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, a second virtual reality scene that manifests a second challenge designed for a second proposed experience of the second category in the first set of categories different from the first category through a second plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, and a second assessment comprising a second set of prompts different from the first set of prompts in accordance with the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression;
(E) obtaining, concurrent with the presenting (D), a first plurality of data elements, the first plurality of data elements comprising a first set of data elements, from a subset of sensors in the plurality of sensors, wherein the first set of biometric data elements is selected in accordance with the first sequence of virtual reality events, and wherein the subset of sensors comprises a first sensor that captures at least one data element in waveform associated with the subject when the subject is completing the first challenge in the first virtual reality scene and a second sensor that captures at least one data element associated with the subject when the subject is completing the second challenge in the second virtual reality scene, and wherein the obtaining (E) comprises transcribing the at least one data element in waveform, thereby obtaining a vocal feature associated with the subject when the subject is completing the first challenge in the first virtual reality scene;
(F) determining:
(i) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies the at least one threshold associated with the first proposed experience for the first challenge and the at least one threshold associated with the second proposed experience for the second challenge, wherein each of the at least one threshold comprises a threshold to assess whether a respective challenge is successfully completed by satisfying the at least one threshold associated with a corresponding proposed experience for the respective challenge, and wherein the first plurality of data elements comprises a first subset of data elements captured by the first sensor,
(ii) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies a corresponding first threshold baseline characteristic defined by the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression,
(iii) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category is satisfied, and
(iv) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category is satisfied;
(G) forming an updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression, wherein:
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise a third category in the plurality of categories for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a second sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the first sequence of virtual reality events, and
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are not satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise either of the first category or the second category for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a third sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the second sequence of virtual reality events and the first sequence of virtual reality events, wherein the forming (G) is based at least in part on an outcome of the determining (F);
(H) presenting, on the wearable display, either the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events, thereby implementing the exposure progression that improves the ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject; and
(I) obtaining, concurrent with the presenting (H), a second plurality of data elements, the first plurality of data elements comprising a first set of data elements, from the subset of sensors in the plurality of sensors when the subject is completing the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events.

### Claim 30

A non-transitory computer readable storage medium storing one or more programs, the one or more programs comprising instructions, which when executed by a computer system cause the computer system to perform a method comprising:
(A) generating, in electronic form, from an assessment data store, a first assessment for display at the wearable display, wherein the first assessment comprises a first set of prompts that elicits a response from the subject;
(B) determining if a plurality of assessment responses provided by the subject responsive to the first assessment satisfies one or more authorization criterion, wherein
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies an authorization criterion in the one or more authorization criterion, the one or more programs singularly or collectively obtains a baseline characteristic of the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject and an identification of a first set of categories for the subject, and
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies no authorization criteria in the one or more authorization criterion, repeating the generating (A) and determining (B) for one or more prompts in the first set of prompts;
(C) forming an initial instance of a corresponding exposure progression for the subject in accordance with the identification of the first set of categories, wherein:
the first set of categories is selected from a plurality of categories,
each respective category in the plurality of categories (i) is directed to improving a particular ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject, (ii) is associated with a corresponding plurality of proposed experiences, and (iii) is associated with at least one respective gate criterion in a plurality of gate criteria, and
for each respective category in the plurality of categories, each respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences (i) is associated with a corresponding virtual reality scene, in a corresponding plurality of virtual reality scenes, that manifests a corresponding challenge, in a corresponding plurality of challenges, designed to evoke the social anxiety disorder of the subject during the respective proposed experience of the respective category, and (ii) is associated with at least one threshold, in a plurality of thresholds, for the corresponding challenge of the respective proposed experience, and
the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression comprises a first sequence of virtual reality events comprising an order of a first category and a second category in the first set of categories, wherein the first and second is selected from the group consisting of: an exposure category, a cognitive reframing therapy category, and a mindfulness category;
(D) presenting, on the wearable display, the first sequence of virtual reality events comprising a first virtual reality scene that manifests a first challenge designed for a first proposed experience of the first category in the first set of categories through a first plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, a second virtual reality scene that manifests a second challenge designed for a second proposed experience of the second category in the first set of categories different from the first category through a second plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, and a second assessment comprising a second set of prompts different from the first set of prompts in accordance with the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression;
(E) obtaining, concurrent with the presenting (D), a first plurality of data elements, the first plurality of data elements comprising a first set of data elements, from a subset of sensors in the plurality of sensors, wherein the first set of data elements is selected in accordance with the first sequence of virtual reality events, and wherein the subset of sensors comprises a first sensor that captures at least one data element in waveform associated with the subject when the subject is completing the first challenge in the first virtual reality scene and a second sensor that captures at least one data element associated with the subject when the subject is completing the second challenge in the second virtual reality scene, and wherein the obtaining (E) comprises transcribing the at least one data element in waveform, thereby obtaining a vocal feature associated with the subject when the subject is completing the first challenge in the first virtual reality scene;
(F) determining:
(i) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies the at least one threshold associated with the first proposed experience for the first challenge and the at least one threshold associated with the second proposed experience for the second challenge, wherein each of the at least one threshold comprises a threshold to assess whether a respective challenge is successfully completed by satisfying the at least one threshold associated with a corresponding proposed experience for the respective challenge, and wherein the first plurality of data elements comprises a first subset of data elements captured by the first sensor,
(ii) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies a corresponding first threshold baseline characteristic defined by the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression,
(iii) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category is satisfied, and
(iv) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category is satisfied;
(G) forming an updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression, wherein:
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise a third category in the plurality of categories for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a second sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the first sequence of virtual reality events, and
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are not satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise either of the first category or the second category for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a third sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the second sequence of virtual reality events and the first sequence of virtual reality events, wherein the forming (G) is based at least in part on an outcome of the determining (F);
(H) presenting, on the wearable display, either the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events, thereby implementing the exposure progression that improves the ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject; and
(I) obtaining, concurrent with the presenting (H), a second plurality of data elements, the first plurality of data elements comprising a first set of data elements, from the subset of sensors in the plurality of sensors when the subject is completing the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events.

### Claim 31

A method for implementing an exposure progression that improves an ability of a subject to manage a social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject, the method comprising:
at a computer system associated with the subject, the computer system comprising one or more processors, a wearable display, a plurality of sensors, and a memory coupled to the one or more processors, the memory comprising one or more programs configured to be executed by the one or more processors to perform the method, the one or more programs singularly or collectively comprising instructions for:
(A) generating, in electronic form, from an assessment data store, a first assessment for display at the wearable display, wherein the first assessment comprises a first set of prompts that elicits a response from the subject;
(B) determining if a plurality of assessment responses provided by the subject responsive to the first assessment satisfies one or more authorization criterion, wherein
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies an authorization criterion in the one or more authorization criterion, the one or more programs singularly or collectively obtains a baseline characteristic of the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject and an identification of a first set of categories for the subject, and
when the plurality of assessment responses satisfies no authorization criteria in the one or more authorization criterion, repeating the generating (A) and determining (B) for one or more prompts in the first set of prompts;
(C) forming an initial instance of a corresponding exposure progression for the subject in accordance with the identification of the first set of categories, wherein:
the first set of categories is selected from a plurality of categories,
each respective category in the plurality of categories (i) is directed to improving a particular ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject, (ii) is associated with a corresponding plurality of proposed experiences, and (iii) is associated with at least one respective gate criterion in a plurality of gate criteria, and
for each respective category in the plurality of categories, each respective proposed experience in the corresponding plurality of proposed experiences (i) is associated with a corresponding virtual reality scene, in a corresponding plurality of virtual reality scenes, that manifests a corresponding challenge, in a corresponding plurality of challenges, designed to evoke the social anxiety disorder of the subject during the respective proposed experience of the respective category, and (ii) is associated with at least one threshold, in a plurality of thresholds, for the corresponding challenge of the respective proposed experience, and
the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression comprises a first sequence of virtual reality events comprising an order of a first category and a second category in the first set of categories, wherein the first and second is selected from the group consisting of: an exposure category, a cognitive reframing therapy category, and a mindfulness category;
(D) presenting, on the wearable display, the first sequence of virtual reality events comprising a first virtual reality scene that manifests a first challenge designed for a first proposed experience of the first category in the first set of categories through a first plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, a second virtual reality scene that manifests a second challenge designed for a second proposed experience of the second category in the first set of categories different from the first category through a second plurality of interactable virtual reality objects, and a second assessment comprising a second set of prompts different from the first set of prompts in accordance with the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression;
(E1) obtaining, in coordination with the presenting (D), a first subset of data elements of the subject, using a first sensor in the plurality of sensors operating at a first sampling rate, while the subject is incurring a first portion of the first sequence of virtual reality events;
(E2) determining, responsive to a content of the first set of data elements, using the one or more programs, whether to adjust the first sampling rate of the first sensor to a second sampling rate, other than the first sampling rate, based on an evaluation of the content of the first subset of data;
(E3) obtaining, in coordination with the presenting (D), a second subset of data elements of the subject, using the first sensor in the plurality of sensors operating:
(i) at the first sampling rate when the evaluation of the content of the first subset of data does not indicate that the second sampling rate is warranted, or
(ii) at the second sampling rate when the evaluation of the content of the first subject of data indicates that the different second sampling rate is warranted, while the subject is incurring a second portion of the first sequence of virtual reality events,
wherein the first subset of data and the second subset of data combine to form a first set of data elements;
(F) determining:
(i) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies the at least one threshold associated with the first proposed experience for the first challenge and the at least one threshold associated with the second proposed experience for the second challenge, wherein each of the at least one threshold comprises a threshold to assess whether a respective challenge is successfully completed by satisfying the at least one threshold associated with a corresponding proposed experience for the respective challenge, and wherein the first plurality of data elements comprises a first subset of data elements captured by the first sensor,
(ii) whether the first plurality of data elements satisfies a corresponding first threshold baseline characteristic defined by the initial instance of the corresponding exposure progression,
(iii) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category is satisfied, and
(iv) whether the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category is satisfied;
(G) forming an updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression, wherein:
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise a third category in the plurality of categories for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a second sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the first sequence of virtual reality events, and
when each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the first category and each gate criterion in the at least one respective gate criterion associated with the second category are not satisfied, the first sequence of virtual reality events is updated to comprise either of the first category or the second category for the subject to perform next, thereby forming a third sequence of virtual reality events associated with the updated instance of the corresponding exposure progression different from the second sequence of virtual reality events and the first sequence of virtual reality events, wherein the forming (G) is based at least in part on an outcome of the determining (F);
(H) presenting, on the wearable display, either the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events, thereby implementing the exposure progression that improves the ability of the subject to manage the social anxiety disorder exhibited by the subject; and
(I) obtaining, concurrent with the presenting (H), a second plurality of data elements, the first plurality of data elements comprising a first set of data elements, from the subset of sensors in the plurality of sensors when the subject is completing the second sequence of virtual reality events or the third sequence of virtual reality events.

### Claim 32 (depends on 31)

The method of claim 31, wherein the first sensor measures heart rate and the (E2) determining adjusts the first sampling rate of the first sensor to the second sampling rate when a heartrate in the content of the first subset of data includes a variation in the heart rate.

### Claim 33 (depends on 31)

The method of claim 31, wherein the first sensor measures speech and the (E2) determining adjusts the first sampling rate of the first sensor to the second sampling rate when the content of the first subset of data indicates the subject is not speaking.