Doctors at Stanford University in the US have found distraction through virtual reality (VR) and other related technologies is helping children through hospital stays better than additional medication. The Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital programme — standing for childhood anxiety reduction through innovation and technology — at Stanford’s CHARIOT uses VR headsets to allow children to engage with videos and games as they undergo anaesthesia or pre-op requirements. The distraction allowed doctors to reduce quantities of medication, sedatives and sometimes anaesthesia needed to calm patients. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital programme technology is now also being used at other US hospitals.
Doctors at Stanford University in the US have found distraction through virtual reality (VR) and other related technologies is helping children through hospital stays better than additional medication. The CHARIOT programme — standing for childhood anxiety reduction through innovation and technology — at Stanford’s Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital uses VR headsets to allow children to engage with videos and games as they undergo anaesthesia or pre-op requirements. The distraction allowed doctors to reduce quantities of medication, sedatives and sometimes anaesthesia needed to calm patients. CHARIOT programme technology is now also being used at other US hospitals.