Healthy virtual reality

Summary

• Way le scalpel
• Children, like at home
• Aging on command
• Speed ​​up recovery

The contribution of VR is immense in this sector, whether in terms of comfort for patients having to stay in a hospital environment or quite simply to facilitate the work of medical staff. Even though the medical virtual reality sector is still young, there are no longer many examples of the benefits for patients and the practitioners on whom they depend. So here are a few.

Way le scalpel

Have you ever wondered what goes on in an operating room? What were the surgeons and nurses actually doing? For the first time in the history of medicine, on April 14, 2016, Shafi Ahmed, cancer surgeon, performed an operation using a 360 camera. We could all put ourselves in the doctor's shoes, actually perform the operation. virtual, and remove cancerous tissue, whether you're a medical student, journalist, or just a worried loved one.

Virtual reality could be of great help to medical students, who can only enter operating theaters after spending many years on the school benches. In fact, until now, only certain privileged people were able to attend surgery early enough. Soon, any medical student will be able, from the start of their training, to be concretely screened in operating theaters.

Relax unhealthy patients

Many patients spend bedridden days within four walls, with only a television, cranky neighbors, and a few worried relatives for company. Needless to say, the people concerned tend to find the time long, which does not help them to put their condition into perspective. Brennan Spiegel and her team introduced virtual reality equipment in a Los Angeles hospital to reduce stress, boredom and therefore pain for patients.
Through a virtual reality headset, they could escape their sterile and sanitized environment to travel around Iceland and its beautiful landscapes. Spiegel Says Adopting VR Could Not Only Make Patients' Stay More Pleasant, But Lower Care Costs. Indeed, reducing anxiety could ultimately reduce the length of care and the resources they need. A similar project called Farmoo was developed by American students. Its creator, Henry Lo says: “The app aims to distract young cancer patients during their chemotherapy, so that they can focus more on the activities offered in virtual reality than on the treatment itself. even ".

Children, like at home

A stay in a hospital setting can be a difficult, even traumatic experience for young children.. Indeed, they can quickly lack landmarks such as their families, their friends, their favorite soft toys or more generally, their homes. A Dutch company has therefore created VisitU, an application requiring a smartphone, a virtual reality headset and allowing people to meet at home, at their school or at their own 360 ° birthday. Thus, even if they are hospitalized for a long time, children do not lose their bearings.
This system could facilitate family visits and make them more qualitative. It is true that today, the limits are numerous and the hours of visits are rare. It is therefore difficult to provide effective support to children when they are hospitalized. The application would therefore make it possible to unclog waiting rooms and offer patients quality visits, almost on demand.

Aging on command

Embodies Labs recently created the We Are Alfred app. Thanks to virtual reality, young medical students could more easily understand what aging means. Everyone can be this imaginary Alfred for 7 minutes, and realize the physical constraints inherent in the aging of the body. Visual and auditory effects combine to make you feel like you are 74 years old. The goal of this app is to reduce the gap between young doctors and their older patients.
Indeed, it is difficult when you can still move around without problem, when you have very good hearing, very good eyesight and still your head, to realize the challenges of the treatments that are prescribed to patients who have reached age. less vigorous. It is therefore a system that is based on empathy. It is of course easier to provide effective care to a person whose perspective has been grasped.

Speed ​​up recovery

For patients who have suffered a heart attack or head trauma, time is of the essence. The faster the treatment, the greater the chances of full recovery. MindMotionPro is an application that we owe to Swiss Mindmaze. It allows patients to practice raising their arms or moving their fingers, thanks to virtual reality, and thus more easily find their motor functions. Even if all this remains fictitious, the application promotes the attention, motivation and combativeness of patients.
The resulting mental strain allows their brains and nervous systems to recover faster than if they waited passively in their hospital beds. They really feel like they are fighting against their condition.