[ad_1]
Gabriella Mulligan
BBC News
Vaccines save lives, but many children are afraid of needles.
A project in Brazil has thus found its place in virtual reality or VR (as is known in English) a way to help children cope with situations like this
The Project VR Vaccine has created an animated 3D adventure that allows kids to see how armored heroes defend their land. a Vilain.
And while the nurse looks at the same story on a separate screen, she takes the opportunity to pbad the wet cotton through the skin and apply the injection.
Fear of needles
The project was launched by the chain. Hermes Pardini pharmacies to badist them in their vaccination campaigns, while anime content was in charge of local design studios VZLAB and Lobo.
"What we learned from this project is that children fear Luiz Evandro, director of VZLAB and Lobo.
" Our theory was that, if we could get rid of "l & # As the needle approaches, the fear itself will also disappear.
Evandro claims that the ability of the story told in the animation to attract the interest of children has soothed their fears and helped relax their muscles, which made them much easier. The nurses work during the injection.
The results of the VR Vaccine project were so positive that Hermes Pardini installed the devices in his 80 pharmacies.
Evandro believes that virtual reality can potentially help diversity.
"You can integrate both interactivity and personalization with specific patients," he says.
"We think we have only scratched the surface of what can be done here."
Technology Aid
The use of technology is also effective for help children with chronic conditions express their feelings and get their facial treatment. [19659004] For example, Sproutel, a US-based company, has developed a robot that allows children to submit for cancer treatment, using a "sentiment card", that transmits a certain amount of information. emotion against the chest of the animal.
Next, the duck expresses this feeling.
"This allows children to share their feelings with medical staff who use this device, which is often difficult for young children," says Aaron Horowitz, co-founder and CEO of Sproutel .
The duck is also equipped with a catheter, which allows children to administer chemotherapy to their ducks. Horowitz says that this type of medical game can give children a rebaduring sense of control over their medical treatments.
"Several studies have shown that children felt that duck helped reduce their stress level ] In the hospital," says Horowitz.
"The average cancer treatment time for a child is 1,000 days, which is extremely scary."
Sproutel claims to have already received 600 orders from 37 hospitals. The United States buys these ducks, which cost $ 200.
And the insurance company Aflac supports the cost of a duck for every cancer patient who requests it.
Robots
Other Types of robots also arrive in children's hospital wards.
The Canadian company RXRobots, for example, has spent years developing its MEDi humanoid robot, designed to build a relationship with a child and teach him cognitive-behavioral strategies to help him cope with the stresses of stress. hospitals through games and conversations.
Suppose that a child is suffering from anxiety because he knows that he will undergo treatment . The MEDi robot will play with him to do deep breathing exercises.
During play, the child relaxes and stops focusing on the procedure.
MEDi is also used for therapeutic games in which children can perform operations, during which the robot makes comments such as "you take good care of me".
This teaches the child that health professionals are also trying to help him, even when he performs sometimes painful medical procedures.
RXRobots founder Tanya Beran says this robot can help reduce children's pain during procedures. 50% physicians, after interviews with children, parents and nurses.
Beran believes that interaction with MEDi not only helps children under medical treatment, but can also shape their attitudes toward medical care for the rest of their lives.
"MEDi transforms medical care by helping children develop a different experience in hospitals and dental practices," he says.
But the robot is not perfect yet. In case of failure of the Internet connection, the robot does not work. Sometimes you also need time to talk.
And its price – $ 15,000 – is not cheap.
The Alberta Pediatric Hospital has four. And the medical staff ensures their effectiveness in more than one patient.
Source link
