Top 10 Clinical Applications of Virtual Reality in Healthcare: From Exposure Therapy to Elderly Care

Virtual Reality Is Truly Here. Even within the healthcare sector alone, its potential application value is immense. For years, scientists and medical experts have been dedicated to developing and researching virtual reality technologies to leverage VR methods for disease diagnosis, patient treatment, and the training of healthcare professionals.

Currently, many virtual reality technologies have been applied in clinical practice. Of course, as virtual reality technology continues to evolve, these methods are also being continuously refined and improved. Below, ten cases that have been implemented in practice will be introduced.

Exposure Therapy

Exposure therapy is one of the methods for treating phobias.University of LouisvillePsychiatrists have used virtual reality to help patients overcome fears and treat claustrophobia.

In this case, virtual reality technology is used to create a controlled simulated environment for patients, enabling them to overcome avoidance behaviors, confront their fears, and even practice coping strategies. All of this is made possible by the application of virtual reality technology—the simulated world is privately configured, safe, and can be easily paused or repeated at will.

Treatment of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Similar to how exposure therapy is used to treat phobias and anxiety disorders, virtual reality can also be employed to treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in soldiers. The Institute for Creative Technologies at the University of Southern California hasA PaperIt is mentioned that as early as 1997, when the Georgia Institute of Technology released the so-called Virtual Vietnam VR, virtual reality had already been used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder.

Recently, clinics and hospitals have been employing virtual reality technology to simulate war scenarios, such as the Iraq War and the Afghanistan War, to help veterans re-experience the traumatic events they endured. In a safe and controlled virtual environment, they can learn how to manage crises, thereby avoiding danger and protecting both themselves and others.

Pain Management

For burn patients, pain is an unavoidable issue. Doctors hope to use virtual reality to distract patients and employ distraction therapy to help them manage their pain.The University of Washington has launched aA virtual reality video game called SnowWorld allows patients to throw snowballs at penguins and listen to Paul Simon’s music, thereby alleviating pain during treatments such as wound care and physical therapy by suppressing pain perception and blocking pain pathways in the brain. A 2011 study conducted by the military showed that SnowWorld provided better pain relief than morphine for soldiers suffering from burn injuries caused by explosions.

Surgical Training

Surgeons typically work with cadavers during their training, undergoing a gradual, experience-building process before they can take on surgical tasks or assume more significant roles in the operating room. Virtual reality technology enables surgeons to immerse themselves in simulated surgical environments, allowing them to practice procedures without posing any risk to actual patients.

Stanford UniversitySurgical simulators can even provide haptic feedback to surgical trainees. Stanford University’s endoscopic sinus surgery simulator creates three-dimensional models from patients’ CT scans for trainees to practice surgical procedures. This system was put into use in 2002. Although this technology does not employ head-mounted displays, this foundational work has contributed to enhancing the effectiveness of future virtual simulations.

Phantom Limb Pain

For patients who have lost limbs, phantom limb pain is a common medical issue. For instance, some individuals without arms may feel as though they are constantly clenching their fists and unable to relax. Admittedly, this is a mild manifestation; many cases of phantom limb pain are far more unbearable. In the past, mirror therapy was often employed to address phantom limb pain. This approach involves having patients observe the mirror image of their healthy limb, thereby potentially synchronizing the brain’s perception of actual limb movement with that of the phantom limb, which helps alleviate phantom limb pain.

Similarly, a research report published last year in the medical journal *Frontiers in Neuroscience* investigated the potential role of virtual reality games in alleviating phantom limb pain. The report noted that sensors can receive neural signals from the brain. In the game, patients use virtual limbs to complete prescribed tasks, which helps them gain a sense of control and enhance their learning capabilities. For example, they can learn how to relax their painfully clenched fists.

Brain Injury Assessment and Rehabilitation

An article in"Cyberpsychology & Behavior" (CyberPsychology & BehaviorA review published in ) noted that virtual reality (VR) can be used not only for injury assessment but also for physical rehabilitation. A report in the journal focused on executive function, which is associated with “impairments in sequencing, organizing behavior, and problem planning,” according to the publication. Scientists created a virtual world featuring a building with doors of different colors, requiring users to navigate to the exit. This setup resembles the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task (WCST), a neuropsychological test that requires participants to match cards. Participants are not informed of the matching rules; they are only told whether their matches are correct or incorrect. “The authors concluded that, like the WCST, this approach tests users’ cognitive functions. However, the VR method may be more ecologically valid and effective,” wrote Cyberpsychology & Behavior.

CorrectHaving autismofYoung PeopleConductSocial Cognition Training

Dallas isProfessor at the University of Texas, heA training program has been developed to help children with autism learn social skills. This program leverages brain imaging and electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring technologies, employing avatar-based simulations to place children in scenarios such as job interviews and blind dates. This approach helps them understand social contexts, makes their emotional expressions more socially acceptable, and facilitates better social integration. Brain scans of participants revealed increased activity in brain regions associated with social understanding after completing the training program.

Meditation

Meditation is one of the treatments for generalized anxiety. New app for Oculus RiftDEEPDesigned to help users learn how to perform deep, meditative breathing. The virtual reality experience immerses users in an underwater world, utilizing a chest-worn strap to monitor respiration. By controlling their breath, users can navigate from one location to another; breathing is the sole controllable variable and the key to success in this game. Another advantage of the game is its broad accessibility: since everyone breathes, even individuals unfamiliar with joysticks or controllers can participate in the experience.

Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities

The New York TimesIn 1994, multiple use cases for virtual experiences were described, such as enabling a five-year-old boy with cerebral palsy to roll his wheelchair across a grassy field, and allowing fifty children with cancer to “swim” in an animated fish tank.

A recent example is Fove, an earphone manufacturer,FundraisingAn application called “Eye Play the Piano” has been developed, leveraging eye-tracking technology in headsets to enable children with physical disabilities to play the piano.

Opportunities for the Leisurely at Home

Some may worry that virtual reality could lead certain individuals to prefer living in a virtual world rather than facing the real one. However, for people with disabilities and the elderly who are unable to move around freely in the physical world, virtual reality technology can improve their quality of life, expanding their sphere of activity beyond the confines of a home, a room, or even a bed.

Last year,Stanford University Engineering Students for the ElderlyA virtual reality experience program has been developed to enable users to engage with the external world through activities such as cycling and walking on the beach. The system simulates environmental factors, including sound, light, wind, and temperature variations, and utilizes a large wall-mounted display that fills the user’s normal field of view.

 
Compiled by Chen Kun

Editor: Zheng Qi