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How can the love of video games be harnessed to improve patient experience and outcomes?
As one of less than 80 dedicated hospital gaming and technology specialists in the world, Abraham Homer is witnessing a technological sea change in patient care that’s not only leading to better outcomes, but also brings joy and play to a child’s hospital experience.
"Virtual reality is revolutionizing pediatric treatments by transforming the ways in which kids receive care. It’s not merely a tool for distraction; it’s a powerful non-pharmacological intervention for pain reduction, therapy augmentation and positively changing the ways in which patients perceive their healing journey."
Abe runs the Immersive Tech Program and Gaming Tech Program, one of only a few in-house gaming development teams that are employed by a healthcare facility that directly implements games with patients. By incorporating innovative bleeding edge technology, such as AI and motion sensors, Abe and his team can make games that are more engaging and efficient for young patients, as well as relevant to their treatment.
Under Abe’s leadership, Children’s Hospital Colorado is revolutionizing the way virtual reality (VR) and gaming technology is used to improve patient experience, one game at a time.
What is medical virtual reality?
Virtual reality is a computer-generated simulation of a three-dimensional image or environment that can be interacted with in a seemingly real and physical way. While wearing special electronic devices, such as goggles or a headset with a screen inside and hand controllers, players can enter a virtual world.
While VR isn’t a new technology, its use in the medical field is relatively recent. Most notably, surgeons and physicians use VR for educational purposes, improving efficiency and situational awareness in the operating room. But that made Abraham Homer, the Gaming Technology Supervisor at Children’s Colorado, think about how this virtual reality could be used in treatment with patients, specifically for pain management, physical therapy and rehabilitation, and medical procedure anxiety.
Virtual reality is so effective in pediatric patients partly because of a phenomenon within the body called supersensory proprioception. The brain is taxed by the visual and auditory simulation in the headset, which convinces the body that it is or isn’t feeling something, such as pain or discomfort during physical therapy sessions. And since the headset is free from a television or extensive wires, this allows the technology to be used anytime and anywhere in the hospital.
Through a grant from Child’s Play Charity, a non-profit that delivers therapeutic games and technology directly to pediatric hospitals, the hospital hired the first Gaming Technology Developer, Breawn Schoun, to start creating in-house VR games specifically tailored to patients’ needs as part of the gaming tech team.
Treatment using virtual reality
In 2022, Abe and his team created a rapid prototyping model that took about 6 months to develop the first game for physical therapy and rehabilitation use called Booger Blaster.
“We always try to include patients very early on in our process,” says Abe.
Once Abe and his team have an idea for a game and particular uses, they reach out to patients who can give insight into what makes certain procedures or therapies easier or more difficult. This allows them to brainstorm what those ideas could look like in terms of game design — like for Booger Blaster.
In this game, kids see a giant block of noses in the sky that shoot boogers at the player, and they can grab items from a table like a rubber chicken or boxing gloves to eliminate those boogers. This is known as an asymmetric multiplayer game, meaning the patient has first-person perspective, but the physical therapist has a third person view on an iPad and can change the speed or trajectory of the game based on the part of the body they want the patient to work on.
Physical Therapist Assistant, Marian Brewer, says that games like Booger Blaster help kids reach their full potential. One minute they don’t think they’re capable of moving around the room, and the next, they’re so immersed in the game that they don’t want to stop.
“I love proving a patient wrong that they can do hard things they think they can’t,” says Marian. “Many patients have said they’re only going to play for 5 minutes and end up playing for 45 minutes.”
Since the inception of Booger Blaster, Abe and his team have also created games to help ease anxiety. A popular example is Gurney Journey, a game that helps patients soften their real-life anxiety about surgery by replacing the intimidating journey to the operating room with a virtual portal to a winter wonderland.
Another game easing anxiety for Children’s Colorado patients is perhaps the cutest: Reality Paws. Medical dogs are an important part of patient care, but some high-risk patients can’t have their furry friends at their bedside. Reality Paws helps address that gap by allowing patients to interact with virtual versions of the medical dogs, dressing them in silly outfits and benefitting from some of the same calming feelings. Not only is this fun for patients, but it provides greater equity and helps them feel less isolated while in treatment.
Virtual reality in the future of pediatric medicine
Marian also notes that including VR in her patients’ treatment plans can help with behavioral issues, involves the whole family and creates a community among patients. She’s run into parents who are skeptical about video games, but that usually changes after just one session. On one occasion, Marian even had a parent immediately go out and buy a VR headset to have at home because it was so effective in getting her son out of bed and doing his physical therapy.
“This is a unique experience involving the entire family in our physical therapy goals,” says Marian. “With VR, they’re able to do the hard things.”
Marian hopes in the future that there will be more VR games for her patients, specifically ones that are more inclusive of kids who aren’t able-bodied. And that’s bound to happen as Abe and his team continue to build games with patients in mind. The possibilities of treatment with VR are virtually endless.
