The Virtusphere enables service members to navigate a virtual combat 3D environment using real-life body movements. (Photo courtesy of National Center for Telehealth & Technology)

If you visit National Center for Telehealth & Technology (T2) headquarters, don’t be surprised if you see the following: a psychologist navigating through a virtual Middle Eastern market in Second Life; a uniformed soldier walking inside a giant, stationary hamster ball; a group of software developers gathered around an Android tablet trying out the latest T2 mobile application; or a technician setting up computer stations inside a modified cargo container.

As the primary Department of Defense entity using technology for psychological health and traumatic brain injury (TBI) care, T2 is at the nexus of technology, health care and innovation.

We research, develop and deploy solutions with cutting edge platforms such as virtual worlds, virtual reality, web applications, mobile telehealth and mobile applications.

And the greatest advantage our center has is its people.

Knowledge and skills possessed by our psychologists, developers, researchers and technical staff enables us to fulfill the T2 mission: use technology to help deliver psychological health and traumatic brain injury care to improve the lives of service members, veterans and their families.

To date, our teams have applied technology so a service member can have a face-to-face meeting with a counselor thousands of miles away, a veteran can track their moods and manage post-traumatic stress disorder triggers using a smartphone, and a family member can learn about the stresses of deployment anytime, day or night.

We are constantly pushing forward to develop new mobile applications for service members and health care providers, Web resources and communities where psychological health care providers can learn and collaborate. We’re creating virtual world solutions to provide counseling services, while exploring new and emerging technology. The team at T2 is leading the way to apply technology for psychological health and TBI recovery in the Defense Department and will continue serving as a telehealth innovator.

To learn more about the amazing technology and projects at T2, visit www.t2health.org. You can also connect with us on Facebook and Twitter. Recently, we added a photo album to give you a glimpse of our center and telehealth projects – check out our photos.

Virtusphere Lab at T2. (Photo courtesy of National Center for Telehealth & Technology)