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Medical application of Virtual Reality (VR)

Doctors deploy VR to solve the most challenging medical problems

Virtual Reality in 2021 is no longer just to play games. The influence and technology of VR is indispensable from, for example, product design, real estate and other industries. Yet nowhere are the benefits of Virtual Reality more apparent than in the medical world.

"We're seeing more and more applications here with VR technology, Virtual Reality has reached a tipping point in medicine." - dr. Sachdeva, Director of Education, American College of Surgeons.

The benefits of VR are being experienced in various fields of medicine. Psychologists use it successfully in treating post-traumatic stress disorder, but also doctors who specialize in strokes, surgeons and other doctors have discovered in their own ways how VR improves their treatments. Sometimes the well-known headsets is used, other times 3D glasses or special video screens are used that give a VR-like experience.

The use of Virtual Reality or 3D visualization technology is of course not new. 3D models of, for example, patients' organs have been used since the 1990s. But the advances in Computers mean that the images can be made much more realistic - and much faster.

X-rays, CT and MRI scans can now be converted into high-resolution 3D images within a minute, according to Sergio Agirre, CTO of EchoPixel. The visualization software of this company is used in hospitals worldwide "Twenty years ago something like that would take perhaps a week."

VR for complex operations

Some surgical procedures, such as removal of a caecum or caesarean section, can be done fairly routinely - some are very similar. But other complicated procedures, such as separating conjoined twins, present challenges with that require careful planning. Especially for these kinds of challenging interventions, 3D visualization proves its enormous value.

Recently, VR played an important role in the successful separation of conjoined twins. At Masonic Children's Hospital in Minneapolis, USA, three-month-old twins who had grown together in a much more complicated way than others, with had complicated connections between heart and liver. Operating and separating these twins was obviously very difficult and even dangerous for the twins.

Before surgery, the medical teams performed all possible scans to create a detailed virtual Model of the twins' bodies. In that virtual Model, the doctors could look 'inside' the organs and estimate well in advance what the possibilities and dangers would be during the operation.

"You look through the VR glasses and can virtually walk through the structure and therefore see exactly what you need during the execution of the operation."

VR technology is also used by vascular specialists. Using interactive 3D visualisations, surgeons can prepare well for procedures such as treating an aneurysm or blocked veins. One of the advantages is that it is already possible to estimate well in advance which measures and actions will yield the best results.

VR for pain and anxiety

Where doctors VR use equipment, so do patients. For example, they use headsets to immerse themselves in a virtual world that helps them focus on things other than medical problems and treatments.

Because anesthesia or sedation may involve risks for some patients with, more and more hospitals are offering VR headsets to their patients, in order to be able to control the pain during less serious procedures. At the moment this is still experimental, but the results are still positive.

Similarly, VR has been shown to help reduce anxiety in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Likewise in children, where it helps to reduce anxiety from stinging or other treatments.

with burn patients may benefit most from VR technology. Daily cleaning and wrapping of burns or performing skin grafts are some of the most painful procedures. Pain medication helps, but often not enough.

The VR game "SnowWorld" has been developed for these patients. Dr. Hunter Hoffman, scientist at the University of Washington with expertise in the use of VR for pain management says: "This game contains images specifically designed to distract with burn patients from their pain." According to research, people who play this game during treatment have up to 50% less pain. Other research shows that playing this game shows changes in the brain of patients that indicate that they experience less pain.

The VR game SnowWorld, developed by Hoffmann, is currently being tested in four locations in the United States and in two other countries. Although VR should not be seen as a replacement for pain relief, the developers believe that medication and VR combined can be extremely effective. In the Netherlands, too, with pain relief is being experimented with VR. Medical organizations such as the Radboudumc and the burns center of the Martini Hospital use VR Glasses and conduct research into the application of VR in pain relief during endoscopic examinations and interventions. The first indications of this study show that indeed less sedation is needed in patients using a VR Glasses.

VR for rehabilitation

Virtual Reality also helps patients who experience with balance and mobility problems as a result of cerebral hemorrhage or head injuries.

A new European consortium, led by the Sint Maartenskliniek, will receive € 2.4 million for the development of Virtual Reality (VR) applications in rehabilitation processes. The Interreg North-West Europe program has awarded funding for the so-called VR4REHAB project. Dit project zal de komende drie jaar bedrijven, universiteiten en revalidatieklinieken bij elkaar brengen om VR-toepassingen te ontwikkelen en onderzoeken, die revalidatiebehandelingen verbeteren en het herstelproces versnellen.


"Through VR I can monitor what is going on around a patient and know what influences patients' ability to change". - Emily Keshner, professor of physical therapy at Temple University in Philadelphia.

Research shows that the use of VR in rehabilitation speeds up the process considerably. Patients are more likely to regain their physical skills. The first results can be called very positive. A study in people who had suffered a cerebral hemorrhage showed that the use of VR led to better arm and hand movement after four weeks of therapy. After two months, these patients also showed better mobility. Another study in with patients with cerebral palsy showed similar better outcomes.

"The power of VR in therapy is that you really get to with how people see the world," Keshner says. "They learn how to respond. And after practicing in the virtual world, they are much more confident and better able to do that in the real world too. "

Diederik Hermsen- XR Product Specialist

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