Reducing pain with virtual reality

Main article: Virtual reality in medicine

2022: Immersed in virtual reality, patients need less anesthesia on operations

At the end of September 2022, the results of a clinical study conducted by scientists from the Department of Anesthesiology of the University of Colorado Hospital and the School of Medicine were published. Immersion in virtual reality can reduce the amount of anesthesia required in some types of hand surgery, a study has found. Scientists have proven that patients using VR can only go through the entire surgical procedure with local anesthesia.

Researchers are exploring a range of new medical applications of VR technology, from using VR as a tool to treat chronic back pain to incorporating it into advanced psychedelic therapy. As a replacement for sedation during minor procedures such as endoscopy or complex wound dressings, VR has proven to be somewhat effective. However, during more serious procedures, such as orthopedic surgery, the technology was not as successful.

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In the study, the scientists focused on hand surgeries - increasingly common procedures that often require complete unconscious sedation with a drug called propofol. Senior study author Brian O'Gara, says changing the amount of sedation used in these procedures will make them safer for patients and faster. Optimizing patient care will undoubtedly require changes to anesthesia practice.

The study involved 34 patients facing hand surgery and assigned them to VR or control groups. The VR group wore a headset to the procedure and engaged in soothing treatments of their choice, such as 360 ° mountainous terrain.

At the beginning of the procedure, only local anesthesia blocking nerves was used. At all stages of surgery, patients could ask to be injected with more local anaesthetic or propofol to immerse them in sleep. Only 4 of the 17 patients in the VR group eventually received propofol during the procedure, while each patient in the control group required more complete anesthesia. Interestingly, patients in the VR group ended up using more local anaesthetics during the procedure, but were discharged from the postoperative unit an average of 22 minutes earlier than those in the control group.

This suggests that VR can offer a number of benefits for both patients and hospitals in certain settings. Sedation with propofol is not devoid of small risks, and in some frail patients it can lead to prolonged complications. Easier sedation also means shorter waiting periods for patients after surgical procedures, offering hospitals better protocols to deal with more procedures.^[1]

2018: Virtual reality eases pain

In early June 2018, it became known that employees of the emergency department of the St. Joseph Hospital in Paris began to use 3D virtual reality glasses (VR) for therapeutic purposes. The VR device helps the patient relax and more easily tolerate unpleasant and painful procedures, eliminating the need for drug pain relief.

We invite the patient to immerse himself in a meditative environment and make an interactive journey during which a person can listen to music, do painting or solve a riddle, "said Reda Khouadra, co-founder and CEO of the French startup Healthy Mind, who is behind the introduction of VR glasses in the Paris ambulance[2]

Hospital emergency room staff in Paris start using 3D virtual reality glasses for therapeutic purposes

Wearing a massive VR headset, the patient is transferred to the Japanese Zen Garden or ends up among the snow-covered slopes. Being in a virtual world, people become more patient and calmer to tolerate minor but painful manipulations associated with suturing, processing burns, introducing a urological catheter or repairing a dislocation.

This virtual reality project allows us to offer patients technology that distracts their attention, stops pain and anxiety in emergency care, "said Olivier Ganansia, head of the emergency department at Saint-Joseph Hospital in Paris.[3]

In an interview with reporters, he suggested that in 10 years virtual reality technologies will become familiar and will be used in hospitals on a daily basis.

It is worth adding that the development of Healthy Mind received an award from the Australian University of Adelaide in the amount of $20 thousand. With the help of these funds, the three 24-year-old founders of the startup - Reda Juadra, Malo Louvigné and Timothy Cabanne - went to Seattle to present their brainchild to Microsoft.^[4]

2017: Reducing phantom pains with virtual reality

The Phantom MD app will help people suffering from pathological pain syndrome. After amputation, the feeling of pain in the remote part of the body occurs in 72% of patients, and in 60% it persists for several years.

With the Phantom MD, as well as virtual reality glasses, the missing part of the body can be modeled and then "seen." As a result, the developers assure, the human brain will receive the necessary visual information, and pain decreases. During the tests, 3 sessions of 2 hours were conducted, as a result of which the patient noted a decrease in pain.

The developers of the application were Yaroslavl students Magomed-Amin Idilov and Daniil Fedulov, the invention has already brought them first place at the All-Russian Youth Innovation Forum "MYTH-2017."

The project is likely to be in great demand, since now phantom pains are dulled with drugs, which is not very effective. The startup is supported by the regional Small and Medium Business Development Corporation^[5].

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