How Treatment Is Conducted at the Virtual Reality Medical Center.

Author(s):  
Brenda K. Wiederhold ◽  
Mark D. Wiederhold
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caitlin R. Rawlins ◽  
Zachary Veigulis ◽  
Catherine Hebert ◽  
Catherine Curtin ◽  
Thomas F. Osborne

Objectives: The primary objective of this evaluation is to determine the impact of virtual reality (VR) distraction on acute and chronic pain in Veterans within the Veterans Affairs Health Care System (VA). A secondary objective is to determine the impact of VR on the experience of stress and anxiety in Veterans utilizing VR for the indication of pain. A third objective is to develop an understanding of the Veteran experience of using VR in a healthcare setting.Methods: This prospective, pretest-posttest mixed methods assessment was performed at a VA medical center from August 30, 2019 to November 23, 2020. VR experiences lasted between 10 and 30 min utilizing an immersive head-mounted display with multiple, autonomously chosen virtual environments. Qualitative data was collected concurrently to provide context to quantitative measures which included pain scores and stress/anxiety levels. Data from 79 participants was included in this analysis. Data included pre- and post-VR session Defense and Veterans Pain Rating Scale and stress/anxiety levels.Results: Results for the cohort demonstrated a statistically significant decrease in pain intensity (p <0 .001) with an average 12% decrease in pain levels and an 92% reduction in anxiety for those in concurrent pain.Conclusion: VR as a non-pharmacological adjunct or alternative modality, appears to be a viable option for improving pain management and reducing anxiety in Veteran populations across various age ranges, and levels of acuity and chronicity. VR was found to be an effective distraction from pain, a pleasurable experience for the majority, and opened the door to other non-pharmacological modalities in a Veteran population.


2017 ◽  
Vol 09 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-30
Author(s):  
Brenda K. Wiederhold ◽  
Ian Miller ◽  
Mark D. Wiederhold

Introduction: Today, about 90% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18. As the largest preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, tobacco use accounts for nearly 500,000 deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars to care for smoking-related illnesses every year. While most smoking cessation programs are geared toward adults, there is a void in attempts to curb teen smoking. Objective: With funding from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the Virtual Reality Medical Center (VRMC) sought to create a more effective way to help teens quit smoking. Utilizing cue exposure therapy to eliminate the association of smoking with objects and activities, the program uses virtual environments containing smoking cues to elicit the addictive behaviors and teach the users how to recognize and resist these triggers. Method: In a novel approach, VRMC recruited students from a local high school to aid in the design and development of virtual worlds in order to create an entertaining and effective program for teens. Researchers and the participants of this TeenSmoking program created a variety of anti-smoking environments ranging from scenarios at home, to peer pressure situations at school, all intended to elicit and educate users on addictive smoking behaviors. Conclusion: With past clinical success, researchers at VRMC hope to continue to implement widely available teen smoking cessation programs with enhanced usability, graphics, and multiplayer functionality. Overall, researchers hope to advance more comprehensive use of virtual reality to curb teen smoking addictions.


2020 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Hall

The Fresno County Public Library in Fresno, California partnered with the Community Living Center at the VA Medical Center and the Veterans Home of California – Fresno to bring a virtual reality program to residents. The program utilized Google Expeditions to provide a fun, educational virtual reality experience for veterans. This column will discuss how the program was developed, the implementation of the program, the software and hardware used, and the outcomes.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vanessa A. Olbrecht ◽  
Keith T O'Conor ◽  
Sara E Williams ◽  
Chloe O Boehmer ◽  
Gilbert W Marchant ◽  
...  

Objective: Virtual reality (VR) is a promising method to manage pain. Distraction-based VR (VR-D) is thought to reduce pain by redirecting attention. While VR-D can reduce pain associated with acutely painful procedures, it is unclear if VR-D can reduce pain after surgery. We assessed the ability of a single VR-D session to decrease acute postoperative pain and anxiety and explored if pain catastrophizing and anxiety sensitivity influenced the ability of VR-D to reduce these outcomes in children following surgery. Design: Single-center, prospective, pilot study Setting: Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center (CCHMC) Subjects: 50 children/adolescents (age 7-21 years) with postoperative pain followed by the Acute Pain Service Methods: Patients received a single VR-D session following surgery. Prior to the VR-D session, patients completed pain catastrophizing (PCS-C) and anxiety sensitivity (CASI) questionnaires. Primary outcome consisted of changes in pain intensity following VR-D (immediately, 15, and 30 minutes). Secondary outcomes included changes in pain unpleasantness and anxiety. Results: VR-D decreased pain intensity immediately and 15-minutes after VR-D. Reductions in pain unpleasantness were observed up to 30 minutes following VR-D. Anxiety was also reduced immediately and at 15-minutes following VR-D. While patients with higher pain catastrophizing had higher baseline pain intensity and unpleasantness, they did not show larger pain reductions following VR-D compared to those with lower pain catastrophizing. Conclusions: VR-D is beneficial in transiently reducing pain intensity, unpleasantness, and anxiety in children with acute postoperative pain. This study informs design of larger, controlled study assessing VR-D for acute postoperative pain and anxiety.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amihai Gottlieb ◽  
Glen M. Doniger ◽  
Yara Hussein ◽  
Shlomo Noy ◽  
Meir Plotnik

AbstractBackgroundFear of flying (FoF) is an anxiety disorder classified as a phobia. Its prevalence is estimated at 10–40% in the industrialized world, and it is accompanied by severe economic, social, vocational and emotional consequences. In recent years, virtual reality-based exposure therapy (VRET) for FoF has been introduced. One such FoF-VRET is offered as a paid clinical service at the Center of Advanced Technologies in Rehabilitation (CATR), Sheba Medical Center, Israel. Positive long-term efficacy of FoF-VRET has been found in several studies. However, these studies are limited by relatively small, non-representative samples and a lack of comparative pre/post functional efficacy outcome measures.MethodsTo address these limitations, we conducted a retrospective survey of self-referred individuals treated with FoF-VRET at CATR over the previous four years. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the efficacy of our FoF-VRET in this representative real-world sample. Of 274 individuals who received the treatment, 214 met inclusion/criteria, and 103 agreed to participate. The survey focused mainly on collecting information regarding flight activity before and after treatment. The primary outcome measures were: (1) number of flights per month (FpM); (2) number of flight hours per month (FHpM). For each participant, these outcomes were computed for the post-treatment period (≥6 months after FoF-VRET) and the corresponding pre-treatment period.ResultsFpM (mean±SD) increased from .05±.07 to .16±.07 flights (p<.0001). FHpM rose from.22±.41 to .80±.86 hours per month (p<.0001).ConclusionsThese results are indicative of FoF-VRET treatment efficacy. Future studies should evaluate long-term maintenance of the treatment effect and thus identify the optimal frequency for delivery of periodic booster treatments.


Impact ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 (7) ◽  
pp. 59-61
Author(s):  
Pin-Chuan Chen ◽  
Wei-Hsiu Liu

To support the training of neurosurgeons, innovative simulators associated with professional medical courses are needed. Virtual reality and 3D models have been making their way into surgical training facilities and medical schools for several years. However, both simulators cannot provide a hands-on and tactile experience of what it is like to see and feel in a real surgical procedure. Professor Pin-Chuan Chen of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the National Taiwan University of Science and neurosurgeon Dr Wei-Hsiu Liu of the National Defense Medical Center, are collaborating to design and create a new generation of lifelike medical simulators for neurosurgery training.


Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (20 Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S2.2-S2
Author(s):  
Haruo Nakayama ◽  
Yu Hiramoto ◽  
Anna Ukisu ◽  
Yurika Numata-Uematsu ◽  
Satoshi Iwabuchi

ObjectiveTo clarify the effect of visual system on the post-concussion dizziness by using virtual reality system (VR).Background: the post-concussion dizziness is most commonly reported and associated with prolonged symptom recovery. Therefore, the post-concussion dizziness is one of the most important issues.Design/MethodsThe study design was retrospective study. Facility is Toho University Ohashi Medical Center Neurosurgery Sports-related head injury clinic. The search period is April 2018 to February 2019. Inclusion criteria were as follows: 1) Sports-related head injury cases, 2) Physician-diagnosed Sports-related concussion, 3) Underwent evaluation by the same neurosurgeon, 4) More than 28 days continued follow-up. The examination items were as follows: 1) Age/sex, 2) Competition item, 3) The prediction score of persistent post concussive symptoms (PPCS) at the time of the first visit, 4) PPCS cases, 5) Reproducibility of symptoms by Virtual reality System, 6) The presence or absence of PPCS at the invasion after 60 days. Statistical analysis used t test.ResultsThe 18 SRC participants (Group VR: GVR) were selected and matched with 18 healthy controls (Group HC: GHC). The average Age of both GVR and GHC was 23.1 (16–30) vs 21.7 (16–31) years. The most majority competition item of GVR was Rugby football. The prediction score of PPCS (Low: Medium: High) of both groups was the same as 10: 8: 0 (p > 0.05, no significant). PPCS cases of both GVR and GHC were 12 vs 18 (p 0.05, no significant).ConclusionsOur result suggests that a certain number of post-concussion dizziness cases that include visual system elements, leading to prolongation of symptoms if appropriate therapeutic intervention is not performed.


1999 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 205-205
Author(s):  
choeffel Amy

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld, in Presbyterian Medical Center of the University of Pennsylvania Health System v. Shalala, 170 F.3d 1146 (D.C. Cir. 1999), a federal district court ruling granting summary judgment to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in a case in which Presbyterian Medical Center (PMC) challenged Medicare's requirement of contemporaneous documentation of $828,000 in graduate medical education (GME) expenses prior to increasing reimbursement amounts. DHHS Secretary Donna Shalala denied PMC's request for reimbursement for increased GME costs. The appellants then brought suit in federal court challenging the legality of an interpretative rule that requires requested increases in reimbursement to be supported by contemporaneous documentation. PMC also alleged that an error was made in the administrative proceedings to prejudice its claims because Aetna, the hospital's fiscal intermediary, failed to provide the hospital with a written report explaining why it was denied the GME reimbursement.


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