Virtual Reality frees burn victims from pain
p2pnet news view | Cool:- US Army first lieutenant Sam Brown was very seriously burned during attack in southern Afghanistan in September.
He’s already had to endure rounds of skin grafts and surgery to remove his left index finger, and still faces, “daily, painful wound care and physical therapy to stretch his scarred skin,” says ScienceCentral.
“As far as the pain of being burned alive, I’ve experienced pain that most people will never experience as far as just physically exerting yourself,” Brown is quoted as saying, but, “Being on fire definitely puts all those to shame.”
Then his mother, Tanya, had an email from a friend about “Snow World, a virtual reality game designed specifically for burn victims, says the story.
Virtual world free of burn pain
In a virtual world, “flying through snow-covered canyons filled with snowmen, penguins and igloos can alleviate pain,” says a 2003 University of Washington story, going on »»»
No longer do burns singe the skin when they are cleaned — a distracted mind ceases to concentrate on the throbbing.
This virtual world free of burn pain was something two UW-affiliated psychologists, Hunter Hoffman and David Patterson, imagined and created.
Their collaborative project, called SnowWorld, is tested on burn patients at Harborview Burn Center.
“Burn pain is considered one of the most excruciating types of pain and it is one of the most challenging to treat,” Hoffman said.
About 70 Harborview burn patients, both children and adults, have experienced SnowWorld during wound care. SnowWorld is the first virtual world custom-designed for burn patients, and it has been surprisingly effective, Hoffman said.
Now Brown is experiencing the relief from pain offered by virtual reality.
The US Army Institute of Surgical Research (USAISR) Burn Center in San Antonio, Texas, is collaborating with researchers at the University of Washington to investigate if SnowWorld can help treatment for combat burns, says ScienceCentral.
Hoffman and Christopher Maani, chief of anesthesia at the USAISR, are conducting the first clinical trial of Snow World for combat burn patients.
“Maani says being able to reduce patients’ pain medication with the help of VR improves other, psychological, aspects of their care,”" says the story.
“The high doses of narcotics given to burn victims sometimes sedate them so much they’re unaware of what’s going on in terms of other support from caregivers and family members.”
By decreasing that narcotic load and opiate requirement, “we’ll be able to make sure the patient is doing better, both in terms of their alertness and their ability to enjoy and remember and recall, ” Maani says.
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ScienceCentral – Virtual Reality Helps War Heroes Recover From Burns, November 11, 2008
University of Washington – SnowWorld VR relieves the pain of burn victims,, July 23, 2003
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November 16th, 2008 at 6:36 pm
They could just set him up with World of Warcraft; the new expansion is set in a frozen tundra!
I don’t think environmental placebos always work, especially where smells or temperatures shown in a visual manner are concerned, but it’s worth a shot.
November 16th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
Cant argue with the data (which would have been nice here – did the game make it possible to reduce the dope load? by how much? how much of that is the frosty-frozen aspect of the game, and how much is general distraction). Like Eric, i suspect WoW would be a good choice. they don’t call it the crack of videogames for nothing.