Control pain - fly a plane!
27 July 2006
Computer games could help doctors control their patients' pain, according to new research. By distracting patients from their discomfort, sophisticated 3D virtual reality can even reduce the need for drugs.Antenna finds out more...
SnowWorld, an interactive virtual environment.
Image: Stephen Dagadakis/Hunter Hoffman, HITlab Washington
Distraction has long been a trick of the trade for doctors. Diverting patients' attention means that painful procedures don't feel so bad. But advanced gaming technology is taking distraction to a hi-tech high.
Now, instead of a chat about their holidays patients get to 'fly away' themselves, thanks to immersive virtual-reality helmets that deliver 3D images and surround sound.
A burn patient explores a virtual environment during treatment.
Image: Hunter Hoffman
How does it work?The helmet has two tiny screens set directly in front of both eyes and built-in earphones. It's connected to a computer and operating the kit is as simple as opening a program.
As well as delivering sound and pictures the headset also helps create a more convincing distraction by blocking out the wearer's actual environment. 'Inside the headset the person "dives in" to a different world,' says virtual-reality expert Andreas Wismeijer from the University of Tilburg.
Andreas Wismeijer, virtual-reality expert, University of Tilburg
Image: Andreas Wismeijer
Pain experts think the ideal distraction involves as many senses as possible, as well as demanding both emotional and physical participation.
The best virtual-reality technology uses something called 'tactile feedback' that allows players to feel virtual objects. Some top-of-the-line models even spray different scents as the virtual explorer encounters new situations. Experiences that make patients feel happy seem to be just the job too.
Image: iStockphoto.com/Antonis Papantoniou
But virtual reality has to be tailored to individual patients. 'Even the best simulation of a car won't help you escape reality if you hate cars - the experience will not be half as immersive as doing something you really like,' says Andreas Wismeijer.
Some personality types also find it easier to get lost in a virtual environment. Andreas explains: 'It's the same as when you go to the movies - if you are the type of person who is constantly aware that the movie is fake, you won't cry or laugh or be scared by what happens on screen.'
According to Andreas, the patients who benefit most from virtual reality are those in serious pain, such as burn victims who can't get enough relief from even the maximum dose of painkiller. For these patients, doctors hope virtual reality will cut the amount of morphine they need, which would immediately reduce drug side effects too.
At the moment a decent virtual-reality helmet costs thousands of pounds. But as prices drop and the technique becomes more effective, virtual-reality treatment should become more widely available.