Applications of virtual reality for pain management in burn-injured patients

Abstract

The pain associated with burn injuries is intense, unremitting and often exacerbated by anxiety, depression and other complicating patient factors. On top of this, modern burn care involves the repetitive performance – often on a daily basis for weeks to months – of painful and anxiety-provoking procedures that create additional treatment-related pain, such as wound care, dressing changes and rehabilitation activities. Pain management in burn patients is primarily achieved by potent pharmacologic analgesics (e.g., opioids), but is necessarily complemented by nonpharmacologic techniques, including distraction or hypnosis. Immersive virtual reality provides a particularly intense form of cognitive distraction during such brief, painful procedures, and has undergone preliminary study by several research groups treating burn patients over the past decade. Initial reports from these groups are consistent in suggesting that immersive virtual reality is logistically feasible, safe and effective in ameliorating the pain and anxiety experienced in various settings of post-burn pain. Furthermore, the technique appears applicable to a wide age range of patients and may be particularly well-adapted for use in children, one of the most challenging populations of burn victims to treat. However, confirmation and extension of these results in larger numbers of patients in various types of burn-related pain is necessary to more clearly define the specific benefits and limitations of virtual reality analgesia in the burn care setting.

A Haptic Serious Augmented Reality Game for Motor Assessment of Parkinson's Disease Patients

“…However, applied games have the potential to increase user motivation for physical activity to its limits. For instance, dance is recognized as a potential effective therapy for people with PD [4] and immersive virtual reality games seem to reduce pain experience during wound care and rehabilitation [9]. Theoretically [10], applied games change the real-world experience of a user into an engaging game-world experience.…”

Overview: Virtual Reality in Medicine

“…The combination of multisensory inputs and interactivity makes the VR experience more immersive and realistic than conventional television or video games, and can successfully capture much of the user's conscious attention (Sharar, Miller, 2008).…”

Untitled

“…Vários trabalhos verificados na literatura utilizaram a estereoscopia com múltiplos propósitos: de ensino 1-8 ; treinamento [9][10][11][12][13][14][15] ; planejamento operatório [16][17][18][19][20][21] ; tratamento [22][23][24][25][26][27] e documentação. [28][29][30] Considerou-se, neste trabalho, a estereoscopia como componente essencial dos ambientes de realidade virtual (RV).…”