Virtual reality technology plan to use as an anesthetic

Illustration of Niv Bavarsky

Imagine that in the near future, a doctor, in order to relieve pain, may prescribe you a few virtual reality games.

At least Matthew Stoudt, the CEO of AppliedVR , a startup who releases content in virtual reality to relieve pain and anxiety before, during and after medical procedures, hopes so.
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According to the MIT Technology Review , the company has already created three different virtual reality applications to relieve pain, as well as one to reduce anxiety. Headsets running the AppliedVR platform are currently used in various medical institutions for taking blood and administering epidural anesthesia, as well as for treating postoperative pain.

The potential of virtual reality has long been studied as an analgesic during medical procedures, for example, to treat people affected by burns. However, the equipment necessary for the implementation of this technology in honey. institutions are extremely expensive: Hunter Hoffman, head of the virtual reality research center at the University of Washington and developer of the SnowWorld game to reduce the pain of burn victims, says that the equipment he uses in the intensive care unit costs $ 35,000.

A number of startups, including AppliedVR, see this as a business opportunity. AppliedVR sells its service content to customers for about $ 5,000 per headset per year.

In turn, Brennan Spiegel, MD, director of health services at Cedars-Sinail Medical Center, confirms that technology can help patients cope with pain without drugs or drugs.

Researchers found that in 20 minutes, the software reduces pain in patients by, on average, 24 percent; before using VR by patients, the estimated average pain score ranged from 5.5 to 10, after the procedure this figure dropped to, on average, 4 points.

“This is quite a significant result to reduce acute pain. He is not too different from what we see after taking painkillers, ”Spiegel said.

He believes that technology can be beneficial for people who suffer from pain, or at least can be used by some for relaxation. But whether it will help everyone, it will become clear only after collecting more data.

Elliot Crane, head of the pediatric unit at Stanford Children's Health, also believes that VR can be useful, for example, to help children with physical therapy.

The biggest problem right now is finding software developers.


AppliedVR presentation video