Wiederhold’s clinic already uses the technology for medical therapy to help patients deal with PTSD, anxiety, phobias (like fear of flying), pain during medical procedures and chronic pain. She predicts more clinics using VR will pop-up in California and across the country within the near future.
Contact Information:
Virtual Reality Medical Center
9834 Genesee Avenue, Suite 427
La Jolla, California USA
frontoffice @ vrphobia.com
Partnering with researchers Jose Luis Mosso Vasquez from Panamerican University School of Medicine and Veronica Lara Vaca of Hospital de Ginecología y Obstetricia Número 4 in Mexico City, Mexico, Interactive Media Institute and Virtual Reality Medical Center studied virtual reality (VR) pain distraction during gynecological surgery. Gynecological surgeries are often sources of stress for women, causing higher pain both during and after the surgery. As a supplement to traditional anesthesia, VR helps to distract patients from pain by showing them immersive and interactive virtual environments, taking their mind off of the surgical procedure and the pain associated with it.
Of the 44 participants in this study, half received VR pain distraction, while the other half received no pain distraction method. The results indicated statistically significant differences in pain perception between the groups, but physiological measurements were less determinable. Overall, this study highlights the need for interventions to reduce stress and pain during feminine-specific medical procedures. To inquire about this study, please contact Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold at the Virtual Reality Medical Center (frontoffice@vrphobia.com).
To access the full text: https://synergypublishers.com/downloads/sruv5a2/
Vasquez JM, Vaca VL, Wiederhold BK, Miller I, Wiederhold MD. Virtual reality pain distraction during gynecological surgery—A report of 44 cases. Surgical Research Updates. 2017. https://synergypublishers.com/downloads/sruv5a2/
Surgical Research Updates journal recently published “Virtual Reality Assisted Anesthesia (VRAA) during Upper Gastrointestinal Endoscopy: Report of 115 Cases— Analysis of Physiological Responses.” The second report of this study focused on patients’ physiological responses to stress and pain during gastrointestinal surgery. Researchers from Interactive Media Institute, Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego, and the Alberto Pisanty Clinic, and Panamerican University in Mexico City participated. Results indicate lower heart rate and respiration rate (physiological indicators of stress) in patients using VR than those who did not.
These findings support a previous publication of self-report pain scores and highlight the usefulness of VR to reduce physiological responses to stress and decrease pain without medication. These findings have large implications in surgical practice moving forward. Reduced need for medication like anesthesia help lower medical costs, reduce the risk complications, and reduce patient recovery time.
Contact author:
Brenda K. Wiederhold
Virtual Reality Medical Center
Vasquez JM, Wiederhold BK, Miller I, Lara DM, Wiederhold MD. Virtual reality assisted anesthesia (VRAA) during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: Report of 115 cases-Analysis of physiological responses. Surgical Research Updates. 2017. https://synergypublishers.com/downloads/sruv5a1/
Interactive Media Institute, Virtual Reality Medical Center, and the Panamerican University School of Medicine in Mexico City recently published findings on the use of virtual reality (VR) surgical pain distraction in the January 2017 issue of the European Medical Journal – Innovations. In a study of 115 participants, researchers found people who viewed immersive VR environments reported less pain during and after their gastrointestinal surgical procedure than those who did not. The researchers call for further investigation into whether VR can be used to supplement or replace traditional pharmacological anesthesia.
This research adds on to studies already examining the use of VR in pain attenuation, but is one of the first to use VR during surgical procedures. Not only did the patients report lower pain scores, but the success of the treatment suggests the potential of VR to help lower the need for medications like anesthesia. Additionally, the surgeon rated his stress lower and completed surgeries faster when patients were in VR. The reduction of pain without pharmacological substances can 1) help lower costs for public health institutions, 2) reduce the risk of complications, and 3) decrease patient recovery time.
Contact author:
Dr. Brenda K. Wiederhold
Virtual Reality Medical Center
Access full text:http://emjreviews.com/therapeutic-area/innovations/virtual-reality-assisted-anaesthesia-during-upper-gastrointestinal-endoscopy-report-of-115-cases
Vázquez JL, Wiederhold BK, Miller I, Wiederhold MD. Virtual reality assisted anaesthesia during upper gastrointestinal endoscopy: report of 115 cases. EMJ Innov. 2017;1[1]:75-82. http://emjreviews.com/therapeutic-area/innovations/virtual-reality-assisted-anaesthesia-during-upper-gastrointestinal-endoscopy-report-of-115-cases/
R&D investment lessons from China
There are lessons in R&D investment to be learned from China. The Chinese government encourages Chinese companies to create and own technologies, and also transfer technology from abroad, according to American author and editor Professor Dr. Brenda K Wiederhold. [2] “As a result, a number of multinational technology and pharmaceutical companies have taken advantage of this policy” to transfer facilities from India. The Chinese government owns all top-ranked academies and has tripled its investment in education in the past 12 years, she notes. These universities emphasise research. “Of the five million students graduating per year, about one million are research students. And China’s academicians file more patent applications than those in any other country — 16 percent compared to 4 percent in the United States,” Wiederhold adds.
[2] Brenda K. Wiederhold Investment in Innovation: Lessons Learned from China (CyberPsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, Volume 14, Number 4, 2011)
Contact Information:
Virtual Reality Medical Center
La Jolla, California USA
frontoffice @ vrphobia.com
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/08/exposure-therapy/496547/
The Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego, for example, offers VR therapy for all manner of fears. Heights, driving, needles and blood, spiders, enclosed spaces—you name it, they treat it. First steps in traditional phobia treatment sometimes involve imagining fearful scenarios, but a patient’s mind is naturally resistant to those thoughts and will go to some lengths to avoid fleshing out terrifying visions. Virtual reality scenarios have proved useful in social phobias, wherein patients have a debilitating fear of interacting with other people.
To schedule an appointment at one of our Southern California Clinics (Sorrento Valley, La Jolla and Coronado), please contact us at: frontoffice @ vrphobia.com
https://theamericangenius.com/tech-news/virtual-reality-breakthroughs-save-lives/
Therapy is another sector that’s highly compatible with VR, particularly when it comes to phobias. Patients interested in treating their panic and anxiety disorders with exposure therapy can find a convenient solution in the technological updates VR brings to the table. The Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego employs headsets in order to “[place] the client in a computer-generated world where they ‘experience’ the various stimuli related to the phobia.”
The Center uses this method to treat specific phobias, chronic pain and other anxiety and stress-related disorders.
To schedule an appointment at our Southern California area clinics (Sorrento Valley, La Jolla or Coronado), please contact us at frontoffice @ vrphobia.com
Up to 9 percent of the U.S. population has a specific phobia, according to the APA, including claustrophobia. Few seek help. “The phobias are the most predominant anxiety disorders that there are, but most [people with] them never get any treatment,” Wilson says. Instead, they do their best to avoid the situations that scare them.
But people who seek help can overcome their fears. “This isn’t like Type 1 diabetes,” which has to be managed through life, Wilson says. Nor is it something that people can usually “just get over,” adds Brenda Wiederhold, a clinical psychologist who treats anxiety disorders at the Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego and Brussels. She says fear that’s unrelenting, excessive and irrational should drive patients to see a professional who treats anxiety. “If you’re starting to avoid things; if you know you need a medical test and you put off the MRI for a year – that’s when it’s gone from a fear to a phobia,” she says, noting that the condition typically manifests when people with a genetic predisposition for an anxiety disorder face a life stressor.
Even people whose claustrophobia-related anxiety isn’t debilitating or constant can improve with treatment. “Whether you have the disorder or you don’t have the disorder, if you have something that’s unpleasant to you, and you want to get rid of it – that’s the sign to get help,” Wilson says.
http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2016/08/exposure-therapy/496547/
Exposure therapy, a form of cognitive behavioral therapy, involves subjecting patients to increasing amounts of things they fear, or otherwise hope to avoid. It is one of the great success stories of mental health, and it’s not just for phobias…
Recently, a more palatable route has been introduced with virtual reality. The Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego, for example, offers VR therapy for all manner of fears. Heights, driving, needles and blood, spiders, enclosed spaces—you name it, they treat it. First steps in traditional phobia treatment sometimes involve imagining fearful scenarios, but a patient’s mind is naturally resistant to those thoughts and will go to some lengths to avoid fleshing out terrifying visions. Virtual reality scenarios have proved useful in social phobias, wherein patients have a debilitating fear of interacting with other people.
www.vrphobia.eu
www.vrphobia.com
www.fearofflyingexpert.com
+1 858 642 0267
frontoffice@vrphobia.com
Dr. Mark Wiederhold of the Virtual Reality Medical Center in San Diego, California, was interviewed by Dr. Colleen Mullen of CoachingThroughChaos.com. Check out the links below to read the article and listen to the podcast!
Podcast: https://soundcloud.com/
For more information about Dr. Colleen Mullen or about becoming a guest on the podcast, please check out CoachingThroughChaos.com