Virtual Reality and Occupational Therapy

Virtual reality is three dimensional, interactive and fun way in rehabilitation. Its first known use in rehabilitation published by Max North named as “Virtual Environments and Psychological Disorders” (1994). Virtual reality uses special programmed computers, visual devices and artificial environments for the clients’ rehabilitation. Throughout technological improvements, virtual reality devices changed from therapeutic gloves to augmented reality environments. Virtual reality was being used in different rehabilitation professions such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, psychology and so on. In spite of common virtual reality approach of different professions, each profession aims different outcomes in rehabilitation. Virtual reality in occupational therapy generally focuses on hand and upper extremity functioning, cognitive rehabilitation, mental disorders, etc. Positive effects of virtual reality were mentioned in different studies, which are higher motivation than non‐simulated environments, active participation of the participants, supporting motor learning, fun environment and risk‐free environment. Additionally, virtual reality was told to be used as assessment. This chapter will focus on usage of virtual reality in occupational therapy, history and recent developments, types of virtual reality technologic equipment, pros and cons, usage for pediatric, adult and geriatric people and recent research and articles

Virtual Reality Analgesia for Pediatric Dental Patients

Background: Dental procedures often elicit pain and fear in pediatric dental patients.Aim: To evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of immersive virtual reality as an attention distraction analgesia technique for pain management in children and adolescents undergoing painful dental procedures.Design: Using a within-subjects design, five patients (mean age 13.20 years old, SD 2.39) participated. Patients received tethered immersive interactive virtual reality distraction in an Oculus Rift VR helmet (experimental condition) during one dental procedure (a single dental filling or tooth extraction). On a different visit to the same dentist (e.g., 1 week later), each patient also received a comparable dental procedure during the control condition “treatment as usual” (treatment order randomized). After each procedure, children self-rated their “worst pain,” “pain unpleasantness,” “time spent thinking about pain,” “presence in VR,” “fun,” and “nausea” levels during the dental procedures, using graphic rating scales.Results: Patients reported significantly lower “worst pain” and “pain unpleasantness,” and had significantly more fun during VR, compared to a comparable dental procedure with No VR. Using Oculus Rift VR goggles, patients reported a “strong sense of going inside the computer-generated world,” without side effects. The dentist preferred having the patients in VR.Conclusion: Results of this pilot study provide preliminary evidence of the feasibility of using immersive, interactive VR to distract pediatric dental patients and increase fun of children during dental procedures

An approach to physical rehabilitation using state-of-the-art virtual reality and motion tracking technologies

Proceedings of Conference on ENTERprise Information Systems / International Conference on Project MANagement / Conference on Health and Social Care Information Systems and Technologies, CENTERIS / ProjMAN / HCist 2015 October 7-9, 2015This work was partially funded by European Union’s CIP Programme (ICT-PSP-2012) under grant agreement no. 325146 (SEACW project)

Using Virtual Reality to Improve Sitting Balance

This thesis focuses on using virtual reality (VR) to enhance sitting balance and core strength. It is a study in how to create a VR exercise program which is interesting enough to keep players/patients motivated, but comfortable to play and not overwhelming to the senses. The software used for this study was written with the hope that a later version of it might be used with occupational/physical therapy patients one day. For this master’s thesis, the initial testing has been done with healthy volunteers. The software incorporates what developers know thus far about designing for VR, and it is hoped that later software developers will benefit from knowing the results of this initial round of testing. All of the 39 test participants agreed that the game was fun, with 82% indicating “strongly agree” in the questionnaire. The enthusiastic responses indicate that the game probably has recreational value beyond therapy patients

Head-mounted virtual reality and mental health: critical review of current research

Background: eHealth interventions are becoming increasingly used in public health, with virtual reality (VR) being one of the most exciting recent developments. VR consists of a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment viewed through a head-mounted display. This medium has provided new possibilities to adapt problematic behaviors that affect mental health. VR is no longer unaffordable for individuals, and with mobile phone technology being able to track movements and project images through mobile head-mounted devices, VR is now a mobile tool that can be used at work, home, or on the move. Objective: In line with recent advances in technology, in this review, we aimed to critically assess the current state of research surrounding mental health. Methods: We compiled a table of 82 studies that made use of head-mounted devices in their interventions. Results: Our review demonstrated that VR is effective in provoking realistic reactions to feared stimuli, particularly for anxiety; moreover, it proved that the immersive nature of VR is an ideal fit for the management of pain. However, the lack of studies surrounding depression and stress highlight the literature gaps that still exist. Conclusions: Virtual environments that promote positive stimuli combined with health knowledge could prove to be a valuable tool for public health and mental health. The current state of research highlights the importance of the nature and content of VR interventions for improved mental health. While future research should look to incorporate more mobile forms of VR, a more rigorous reporting of VR and computer hardware and software may help us understand the relationship (if any) between increased specifications and the efficacy of treatment

Virtual Reality Analgesia During Venipuncture in Pediatric Patients With Onco-Hematological Diseases

Background: Venipuncture is described by children as one of the most painful and frightening medical procedures.Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of Virtual Reality (VR) as a distraction technique to help control pain in children and adolescents undergoing venipuncture.Methods: Using a within-subjects design, fifteen patients (mean age 10.92, SD = 2.64) suffering from oncological or hematological diseases received one venipuncture with “No VR” and one venipuncture with “Yes VR” on two separate days (treatment order randomized). “Time spent thinking about pain”, “Pain Unpleasantness”, “Worst pain” the quality of VR experience, fun during the venipuncture and nausea were measured.Results: During VR, patients reported significant reductions in “Time spent thinking about pain,” “Pain unpleasantness,” and “Worst pain”. Patients also reported significantly more fun during VR, and reported a “Strong sense of going inside the computer-generated world” during VR. No side effects were reported.Conclusion: VR can be considered an effective distraction technique for children and adolescents’ pain management during venipuncture. Moreover, VR may elicit positive emotions, more than traditional distraction techniques. This could help patients cope with venipuncture in a non-stressful manner. Additional research and development is needed

Increasing the Use of Technology in Pediatric Inpatient Rehabilitation

Indiana University Purdue University IndianapolisAssistive technology (AT) can facilitate increased participation and independence for individuals, and occupational therapists (OTs) are well suited to utilize it with their patients. The use of technology, specifically video games, is motivating to children, and is supported by the literature. Thus, the pediatric inpatient rehabilitation team at a local hospital identified that they would like to use technology more frequently to increase evidence-based practice and motivation. However, barriers included lack of awareness of appropriate technology and modifications for patients with a wide range of abilities and limited time for set up and to learn how to use technology. The purpose of this doctoral capstone project was to increase the use of technology on this unit. To do this, the doctoral capstone student focused on targeting individual outcomes by using technology in OT intervention and translating technology programming to practice through barrier reduction by providing educational materials and in-services. The technology programming was supported by positive responses from the program evaluation survey, including increased knowledge of technology, intent to use it, and acknowledgement of the benefits of its use. Time continues to be a barrier, including time to set up systems and increase comfortability with/confidence in using the technology available. With this, the doctoral capstone student recommends that the site continues to practice quality improvement by providing additional in-services and opportunities for hands-on learning to support sustainability of technology programming.Occupational Therap

Augmented and virtual reality in surgery—the digital surgical environment:applications, limitations and legal pitfalls

The continuing enhancement of the surgical environment in the digital age has led to a number of innovations being highlighted as potential disruptive technologies in the surgical workplace. Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are rapidly becoming increasingly available, accessible and importantly affordable, hence their application into healthcare to enhance the medical use of data is certain. Whether it relates to anatomy, intraoperative surgery, or post-operative rehabilitation, applications are already being investigated for their role in the surgeons armamentarium. Here we provide an introduction to the technology and the potential areas of development in the surgical arena

Designing effective virtual reality environments for pain management in burn-injured patients

Burn patients engage in repetitive painful therapeutic treatments, such as wound debridement, dressing changes, and other medical processes high in procedural pain. Pharmacological analgesics have been used for managing pain, but with ineffective results and negative side efects. Studies on pain management for burn patients suggested that Virtual Reality can treat procedural pain. This paper describes the process of designing, testing, and deploying a Virtual Reality system into a hospital setting. Firstly, a workshop was conducted to identify the most suitable types of Virtual Reality contents for the needs of burn-injured patients. Then, an experimental study, with 15 healthy adults, explored the analgesic impact of the Virtual Reality contents. The pain was induced through a cold pressor. Finally, we deployed the Virtual Reality system into the hospital to examine its efciency on burn-injured inpatients. This study presents factors for the efective design and deployment of Virtual Reality for burn-injured patients residing in a hospital. Those factors refer to the use of cartoonish features and a choice of content based on each patient’s interests to increase the positive emotions and the use of interactive features, portable equipment to reduce pain and increase the feasibility of the technology in clinical settings. Finally, our results indicated that the extension of the VR use after the therapeutic session could support more efective pain treatment. Trial registration number Protocol ID: AA843

Virtualiosios realybės taikymas, prižiūrint žaizdas: literatūros apžvalga

Burns are a serious problem that causes a lot of discomfort, both for the patient and for the staff, who try to alleviate the pain and anxiety. Virtual reality is an innovative way of separating the patient from the stimulus felt, thus reducing the negative emotions experienced. Study subject – Applying virtual reality to wound care. Objective of the literature review. The aim was to analyse the literature on the use of Virtual Reality (VR) in wound care. Methods. An exploratory literature review to analyse the application of virtual reality in wound care. Results of the literature review. The scientific literature was searched in PubMed. According to the selection criteria, 10 full-text publications relevant to the topic of the study were selected. An exploratory review and analysis of the scientific literature was performed. Conclusions. The use of VR has been shown to be an effective and important adjunct in burn wound care procedures. VR immerses the patient, separating him/her from the painful stimulus, making this distraction an effective way to reduce the pain associated with wound debridement and dressing changes. The most commonly used methods are inclusive and non-inclusive VR. It was also observed that the effect of using VR for wound dressing is positive and that VR itself is an effective way to distract the patient from pain, anxiety and other negative emotions during dressing.Nudegimai yra rimta problema, kuri sukelia daug nemalonumų tiek pacientui, tiek personalui, kuris stengiasi palengvinti patiriamą skausmą, nerimą. Virtualioji realybė – tai naujoviškas būdas, kuris leidžia atskirti pacientą nuo jaučiamo dirgiklio, taip sumažinant patiriamas neigiamas emocijas. Tyrimo objektas – virtualiosios realybės taikymas, prižiūrint žaizdas. Literatūros apžvalgos tikslas – išanalizuoti literatūros šaltinius, kuriuose nagrinėjama virtualiosios realybės (toliau VR) naudojimas žaizdų priežiūroje. Tyrimo metodai – atlikta tiriamoji literatūros apžvalga, kuria norėta išanalizuoti VR pritaikymą žaizdų priežiūroje. Literatūros apžvalgos rezultatai. Mokslinės literatūros paieška atlikta PubMed bazėje. Pagal atrankos kriterijus buvo atrinktos 10 viso teksto publikacijos, atitinkančios tyrimo temą. Atlikta tiriamoji mokslinės literatūros apžvalga ir analizė. Išvados. Išsiaiškinta, kad VR naudojimas yra veiksminga ir svarbi pagalbinė gydymo priemonė nudegimo žaizdų priežiūros procedūrose. VR atskiria pacientą nuo skausmingo dirgiklio, todėl toks atitraukiamasis veiksnys yra veiksmingas būdas sumažinti skausmą, susijusį su žaizdos šalinimu ir tvarsčių keitimu. Išsiaiškinta, kad dažniausiai naudojama įtraukiančioji ir neįtraukiančioji VR. Taip pat pastebėta, kad VR panaudojimo efektas perrišant žaizdas yra teigiamas, o VR yra veiksmingas būdas nukreipti paciento dėmesį nuo skausmo, nerimo ir kitų neigiamų emocijų žaizdų tvarstymo metu