Virtual reality skin#

Our interdisciplinary research team is using VR adjunctively, In addition to traditional opioids. Erickson Award for Scientific Contributions to Hypnosis, and has a grant from NIH to study VR burn pain control.

David is head of the Division of Psychology of the U.W. Patterson studies psychological techniques (e.g., hypnosis) for reducing severe acute burn pain of patients at Harborview Burn Center in Seattle.

Patient using SnowWorld pain distraction at Shriners Children’s Burn Center Galveston. Since 1993 he has been exploring ways to increase the illusion of going inside virtual worlds (presence), how VR affects allocation of attentional resources, and therapeutic applications of VR. Human Interface Technology Laboratory with a background in human cognition and attention. In 1996, Hunter Hoffman and David Patterson co-originated the new technique of using immersive VR for pain control and began collaborating with Sam Sharar, MD shortly thereafter. Patients are suffering, a fact particularly disturbing when the patients are children. The pain management techniques in use are not good enough. As shown in the figure, over 86% of the burn patients reported having severe to excruciating pain during wound care (shown in red), even when standard levels of opioids were used. In sharp contrast, during wound care such as daily bandage changes, wound cleaning, staple removals etc., opioids are not enough, not even close. When patients are resting (most of the time), opioids (morphine and morphine-related chemicals) are adequate for controlling their burn pain. Unfortunately, the amount of pain and suffering experienced by patients during wound care remains a worldwide problem for burn victims as well as a number of other patient populations. As a result of advances here and elsewhere, the chances of surviving a bad burn, and quality of living for survivors has improved dramatically over the past 20 years.

Virtual reality skin#

Harborview has pioneered a number of advanced treatments (e.g., early skin grafting). Patients with severe burns from 5 surrounding states are sent to Harborview for special care. Nicole Gibran, is a regional burn center. The University of Washington Harborview Burn Center, directed by Dr.