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Country Focus: C&R in Austria

  • Posted On: 3rd June 2014

Christina Valenti

austria

After the disastrous events of World War II, Austrian psychologist Sigmund Freud began diving into the subconscious mind of humans in an attempt to uncover the intimate relationship between the mind and human behavior. Freud’s theories of the subconscious, along with methods like psychoanalysis, quickly piqued the interest of scientists in the world of psychology.

In 1902, Freud formed the Vienna Psychoanalytic Society, inviting close colleagues Alfred Adler, Otto Rank, and a few others, to join him in discussing different ideas about psychology and neuropathology. Their theories being new areas of study, Freud’s society dominated psychology until new and more promising theories sur faced, alongside medical knowledge and technology.

A Proactive Stance on Mental Healthcare

Mental health is becoming increasingly recognized as a global problem, and for the eight million inhabitants of Austria, mental health means more than the mere presence of mental disorders. It focuses on health promotion, the debilitating effects of mental disorders, and prevention.

Mental disorders represent about half of the leading causes of disability. Disorders related to anxiety and depression are increasingly becoming the main cause for early retirement, disability pensions, sick leave, and early onset of dementia. Until recently, care for the mentally distressed was left under the control of the national healthcare system, which was quickly crumbling under its own weight. Now, the federal government allocates healthcare to Austria’s nine provinces. Under Austria’s healthcare system, 99% of the population is covered, ensuring access to healthcare without any financial burdens.

However, the fragmented arrangement of earlier years, as related to the allocation according to the provinces, resulted in a disorganized compilation of data, especially when it came to mental healthcare prevalence and practices. Up until the 1970s, Austria’s psychiatric care operated under a two-tier system. The first consisted of ten large mental hospitals and three small university depar tments responsible for in-patient treatment, housing a total of 12,000 patients. A survey conducted in 1974 showed that 85% of these patients suffered from schizophrenia, mental retardation, or dementia, nearly 60% had been hospitalized for more than two years, and more than 90% were held involuntarily.

The second tier was made up of a few dozen “neuropsychiatrists” running solo practices, treating both neurological and psychiatric outpatients. Little communication between the two tiers was only one problem that this system faced. A new system was needed in order to keep up with the increasing number of people affected by mental disorders in the rapidly changing industrial world.

Reforms in al l nine provinces were swif tly underway. Presently, they embrace a more communi ty-based system. The prominent large hospi tals were replaced by over 40 smaller psychiatric in- and day-patient facilities. Under the funding of social security, other similar services were established, such as residential facilities, day structures, and ambulatory care units. Neuropsychiatry was also divided into two di f ferent special t ies, neurology and psychiatry, and new professions such as clinical psychology and psychotherapy emerged.

These changes addressed issues that were overlooked by the previous twotier system. For example, suicide rates noticeably decreased since the adoption of this new system. This was partly due to the improved structure for the early recognition of mental disorders, as well as greater attention to problems in the workplace, attempts to anti-stigmatize mental disorders and making access to help more available.

Technology as a Tool for Reform

Reforming the healthcare system is not the only way that Austria has chosen to help improve mental health within their country and throughout the world.

As a global leader in biotechnology, Austria’s technological advancements and biomedical research have facilitated mental health treatment.

In 1997, Austria’s largest hospital, AKH of Vienna, purchased a ROBODOC Surgical Assistant System. ROBODOC is a robot that is used by or thopedic and trauma surgeons to accurately assist with surgery.

Austria has also built up a strong reputation of high quality medical care along with excellent patient care. In 2007, the European Health Consumer Index ranked Austrian healthcare at number one, and in 2008, it was listed among the top three most consumer friendly healthcare systems in Europe. To obtain such a high rank, Austria ensures short waiting times for doctor consultations and surgery wait lists, as well as direct access to doctors. Austria’s dedication to patient care, and its promising medical results, has been rewarded with worldwide recognition.

Willkommen in der Zukunft

In 2002, the Upper Austrian Health Cluster was established as a network of various sectors, aiming to strengthen international competitiveness and promote innovative medical technology by bringing together European countries with similar fields of interest, while meeting the needs of small and mediumsized enterprises (SME). This network has had a tremendous inf luence on medical technology research and development. Over 216 companies are partnered with Upper Austria, 90% of which are SMEs.

G.tec, Guger Technologies, is a medical and electrical engineering company in Graz, Austria that has been working on developing systems for biosignal data acquisition and analysis, for research and healthcare applications. G.tec specializes in realtime processing systems. “One of the main application areas is the usage of EEG to control a brain-computer interface for handicapped people,” says G.tec CEO, Christoph Guger. In one of their most recent projects, called Presenccia, G.tec set out to build a better Virtual Reality (VR) system, alongside 15 European partners. Improving the hardware and software components of VR systems, and looking at VR’s scientific background, helps to understand the system better in order to find new ways for improvement.

For example, “It is not so important that avatars look very realistic,” says Guger, “but it is impor tant that avatars have eye contact and head motion.” Guger also stresses the importance of working with other research institutions, especially since Austria is such a small country. G.tec has roughly 50 partners throughout Europe and the U.S., where research is being conducted. It sells products to more than 60 countries worldwide, and has around 20 distribution partners in the U.S., Europe, and Asia. G.tec’s goal of developing software capable of real-time analysis of brain functions would open so many more windows into understanding the brain, and could potentially provide solutions to many mental disorders.

Universities are also very active in developing technology that can be used to treat psychological disorders. Dr. Andreas Schrempf from the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences describes how the main areas of focus of the degree program are studying the biomechanics of the musculoskeletal system, and rehabilitation engineering. “The main concern is to develop medical devices for preventative care, diagnosis, therapy, and rehabilitation,” says Schrempf. At the university, their labs are equipped with 3-D and real-time devices that measure muscular forces and pressure, as well as eye-movement and other variables. Their latest project was an intelligent bed that measured nightly activity and weight loss.

Intelligent furniture is one of the latest advancements in medical devices, and the university makes it a priority to develop other in-home devices that will assist with people’s physical and psychological needs. Schrempf says that in the future, it will be important to research interdisciplinary fields because it allows researchers to “integrate the knowhow from different fields like ICT [Information and Communication Technologies], biomedical engineering and material engineering in order to address future challenges.” The Upper Austria University is working together with other universities in Europe and throughout the world to advance medical technology.

With companies like G.tec studying the brain using real-time VR systems and universities developing medical devices, Austria bridges the gap between how the brain functions and how this knowledge can be applied to everyday life activities. With a plethora of international collaborations, Austria welcomes new research from all fields of study in order to expand the scope of their knowledge. Despite its small size, Austria’s status rises consistently as it continues to improve the lives of its citizens and people throughout the world.


Sources: Personal communication with Christoph Guger, Ph.D. and Andreas Schrempf, Ph.D., CBS Business Network and Austrian Mental Health Reports.
AUTHOR: Christina Valenti Editorial Department C&R Magazine www.vrphobia.eu cvalenti@vrphobia.com

Brenda Wiederhold About Brenda Wiederhold
President of Virtual Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) in Brussels, Belgium. Executive VP Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC), based in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. CEO of Interactive Media Institute a 501c3 non-profit Clinical Instructor in Department of Psychiatry at UCSD Founder of CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy, & Social Networking Conference Visiting Professor at Catholic University Milan.

Written by Brenda Wiederhold

President of Virtual Reality Medical Institute (VRMI) in Brussels, Belgium. Executive VP Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC), based in San Diego and Los Angeles, California. CEO of Interactive Media Institute a 501c3 non-profit Clinical Instructor in Department of Psychiatry at UCSD Founder of CyberPsychology, CyberTherapy, & Social Networking Conference Visiting Professor at Catholic University Milan.