Healthcare Virtual Reality Improves Tolerance of Local Anesthesia

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Researchers conducted a randomized trial, which indicated that VR hypnosis distraction (VRHD) could reduce anxiety and procedure-related pain without the side effects and recovery time associated with traditional intravenous sedation.

“Given the immersive and distracting nature of the virtual reality experience, this technology has the ability to act as a preventive intervention transforming local anesthesia into a less distressing and potentially pain-free medical procedure,” said CUB Erasmus Hospital’s Dragos Chirnoaga, MD, who co-led the research.

In the randomized trial, researchers tested the hypothesis that VRHD could reduce the requirement for intravenous sedation by at least 50 percent during local anesthesia for patients at CUB Erasmus Hospital.

They randomized 60 adults scheduled for shoulder, hand, or knee surgeries with local anesthesia into three groups of 20 patients each. In the control group, standard intravenous sedation during local anesthesia was administered without VHRD; in the second group, VRHD was used during local anesthesia, and intravenous sedation was given if patients reported pain scores of greater than 3 out of 10; in the third group, VRHD before and during local anesthesia was used, and intravenous sedation given if patients reported pain scores greater than 3.

VRHD therapy involved wearing virtual reality goggles and headphones to watch video content of a submarine ride and life under the sea, with a calming voice guiding the journey and focused on slowing the patient’s breathing rhythm.

Analyses showed that just 25 percent of patients receiving VRHD during local anesthesia required intravenous sedation, while only 10 percent of patients given VRHD both before and during local anesthesia needed further sedation.

Also, patients receiving VRHD showed similar comfort and satisfaction before and during the procedure as those given intravenous sedation.

“Virtual reality hypnosis distraction is feasible, well tolerated, and liked by patients,” observed CUB Erasmus Hospital’s Delphine Van Hecke, MD, who also co-led the study.

“While it is not clear exactly how virtual reality works to reduce anxiety and pain, it’s thought that it creates a distraction that stops the mind feeling pain. Further studies should focus on other procedures suited for the use of VRHD, particularly its potential benefit in children as premedication or during low pain procedures,” Van Hecke added.

HEALTHCARE VR MARKET TO GROW AT 53% CAGR TO 2023

According to a market study by IT Intelligence, the healthcare VR market is expected to increased at a compound annual growth rate of 53 percent through 2023.

VR can be employed in healthcare in a number of ways, such as enabling education of healthcare practitioners, medical students, and patients about surgical and therapeutic procedures; making it easy for surgeons to visualize operating areas; and improving the efficiency of image-guided surgeries.

Key market players identified in the report include GE Healthcare, Virtual Realties, Virtalis, CAE Healthcare, Stryker Corporation, Brainlab, Philips, Siemens, Intuitive Surgical, Vital Images, and Medtronic.

The most popular application of VR and augmented reality (AR) technology is surgery, according to a Kalorama Information market report.

Healthcare priorities include gains in surgical accuracy and trauma reduction. VR/AR technology has benefitted from surgical navigation, robot-assisted surgery, and other image-guided systems.

Other applications of VR/AR technology in healthcare, such as pain management, rehabilitation, and therapy, have not increased as much. At the same time, the availability of mass market VR systems and new content could spark increased healthcare sales, noted Kalorama.