StopMiedo: a technology-assisted intervention system for the treatment of amaxophobia

Abstract This paper presents a technological tool, based on systematic desensitization therapy, to help patients gradually overcome fear and anxiety while driving. By using this therapeutic approach, the person who suffers from amaxophobia will be instructed to be gradually in vivo exposed to several feared situations, reducing the anxiety associated with these triggers. The proposed system consists of a smartphone-based client application that includes a conversational user interface to guide the patient during the early stages of the therapy, it also combines geolocation and sensor data fusion to automatically detect risky events while driving and to monitor the patient’s underlying physiologic status. The preliminary evaluation by therapists has provided good and promising results. The potential benefits of using this tool are discussed.