Imprint Applications for Pain Control

Helping Burn Patients Escape Their Pain with VR
Immersive VR distraction is showing great promise for clinical pain control. Imprint is teaming with Dr. Hunter Hoffman to create a number of custom VR pain control applications for both civilian hospitals and the U.S. military.

Imprint has just released SnowWorld 3*, designed and developed for Dr. Hunter Hoffman, Harborview Burn Center, Seattle. SnowWorld is an interactive journey through an ice canyon designed to deliver an engaging interactive experience within the constraints of a wound care procedure. The environment is populated with snowball wielding snowmen, flocks of squawking penguins, woolly mammoths and a few other surprises. Patients are drawn into the action in SnowWorld, pelting anything they see with their own snowballs as they fly through the gently falling snow.

''SnowWorld'' puts Pixar-like animation to medical use in a virtual video game that relieves the pain of burn victims. Try it. It is completely absorbing to pelt woolly mammoths and penguins with snowballs while your ears are filled with the irresistible strains of ''Graceland.''
 New York Times

SnowWorld is provided free for research and clinical use from Dr. Hunter Hoffman, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle.

Highlights
Seattle Times feature: Nov. 6, 2007.
NVIDIA Featured Success Story
Imprint's SnowWorld
pain control application is featured by leading graphics card maker, NVidia.


SnowWorld for Pain Control

SnowWorld virtual environment for Pain Control.
© 2006 Hunter Hoffman and Imprint IT


fMRI scans reveal VR's effect in decreasing patients' pain.Image by Todd Richards and Aric Bills, © Hunter Hoffman, UW, used with permission.

Virtual Reality Changes Perception of Pain
Dr. Hunter Hoffman has been using fMRI brain scans to empirically measure the power of VR to control pain. The brain scan to the left indicates a distinct and significant change in brain activity while using VR, reflecting reduced pain perception for the patient. Empricial results such as these are corroborating personal patient accounts supporting the use of VR, thereby strengthening the case for more extensive uses of VR for pain.

Imprint is working closely with Dr. Hoffman to design effective virtual worlds which maximize pain control. Key elements for the environment include compelling graphics with a high-field of view VR system, and engaging interaction tuned to the limitations of the patients and the clinical environment. Dr. Hoffman's results illustrate how a properly designed and delivered virtual environment can give significant relief for even the most intense pain.


.NavSnowWorld 3 at the
The Institute of Contemporary Art

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On display at The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. September 28 2007 to January 6, 2008
Smithsonian Cooper Hewitt has ended.

You'll find SnowWorld listed under the name of Dr. Hunter Hoffman, psychologist and VR researcher.

 

Links to Virtual Reality Pain Control Research and Treatment

Harborview

University of Washington/ Harborview Medical Center
Dr. David Patterson and Dr. Hunter Hoffman
Leading authorities on the use of virtual reality for pain control. Dr. Hoffman's web site is a great resource of up-to-date reports on current research as well as a rich resource of background information. www.vrpain.com

Harborview

Human Interface Technology Laboratory, Washington Technology Center
Seattle, Washington
Director Tom Furness
www.hitl.washington.edu

Harborview

Universitat Jaume
Dr. Azucena Garcia-Palacios
Av. de Vicent Sos Baynat, s/n. 12071 Castelló de la Plana. Spain
http://www.psb.uji.es
http://www.eita.uji.es

Babes-Bolyai University

Babes-Bolyai University - International Institute for the
Advanced Studies of Psychotherapy and Applied Mental Health
Center for Virtual Reality Therapy Director:
"Aaron T. Beck" Professor, Ph.D., Daniel David
No. 37 Republicii St., 400015, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
internationalinstitute@psychology.ro  davidopris@psychology.ro
www.psychotherapy.ro www.clinicalpsychology.ro

 

*SnowWorld 3 was created with the generous contributions to Harborview Burn Center (Seattle) by
The Paul Allen Family Foundation
The Scan|Design by Inger & Jens Bruun Foundation
National Institute of Health

Contact Imprint at:
3550 NE 147th St., Seattle WA 98155 Tel/FAX:(206) 361-6400
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