VR has also shown promise in the area of mental health. They are a turnkey VR solution for healthcare organizations – offering clinician training and patient education programs delivered via VR. IKONA is using VR to help patients understand what to expect before and after surgery. Healthcare organizations are also relieving patient anxiety with VR through preoperative orientations, where patients put on their VR headsets and are transported through the hospital, introduced to a few key doctors, and even taken behind the curtain to see where their procedure will take place and what to expect. The HIPAA-compliant platform helps patients and their families go beyond the complicated medical jargon in a typical medical report, and helps them understand what’s going on inside their bodies – in VR. Pioneered by Klick Health and Boston Children’s Hospital, HealthVoyager takes patients on a 3D virtual tour of their GI tracts, and shows them what their doctor found during their procedures. HealthVoyager, a new kind of patient education platform, was on full display at the conference. And at the Virtual Medicine Conference, patient education platforms were one of the most popular topics. For some organizations, patient education is the key to relieving the fear of the unknown. How would you feel if you had to go to the hospital to have a procedure you knew nothing about? If you’re like most patients, you’d probably feel a little scared or anxious – especially if you were just a child. Only time, and more clinical trials, will tell. And maybe, just maybe, VR is an alternative to the current opioid crisis. For patients with long hospital stays, VR is a welcome escape from the confines of their hospital room. For Amanda Greene, VR continues to be alternative to taking more meds for her chronic condition. ![]() For Erin Martucci, appliedVR’s therapeutic VR content was an alternative to having an epidural. Just what is it an alternative to? That depends on who you ask. ![]() How long this positive effect lingers after the headset comes off is still a matter of debate, but at the very least, VR is a possible alternative. And at this year’s conference, Samsung CMO David Rhew showed off a collection of MRI images demonstrating positive changes in the brain both during and after removal of the VR headset. In this study, 100 patients who reported pain scores over 3 on the Numeric Pain Rating Scale reported a 24 percent drop in their pain scores after watching calming VR video content. For instance, in 2017 JMIR Mental Health published a study on VR that had some pretty remarkable results. Brennan Spiegel of Cedars-Sinai calls this phenomenon “immersive distraction.”Īt the conference, speakers touted study after study that seemed to offer more evidence that VR has a positive effect on patients. The brain becomes so immersed in these experiences that it can’t pay attention to much else – including pain. Patients who are suffering from pain are fitted with VR headsets and transported to virtual worlds filled with breathtaking seascapes or aerial views of Iceland. Many of the VR therapies presented at the Virtual Medicine Conference work in much the same way for pain management. The best VR games make you feel like you are part of the action, so much so, that it’s hard to pay attention to anything else. Here’s how organizations are using VR today, and some of the highlights from the inaugural Virtual Medicine Conference – easily one of the coolest conferences we’ve been to this year. With over 300 people from over 13 countries, the conference began with a virtual journey through the human heart and culminated with a call to overcome barriers and to keep testing and innovating. ![]() It’s being used for therapies and medical training programs that have REAL results – many of which were on display at the Virtual Medicine Conference in Los Angeles in March 2018. ![]() Virtual Reality (VR) isn’t just for gamers anymore.
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