VR Snow Game Functions As Pain Management

eldavojohn writes "Burn victims — especially soldiers from war — have been proven to deal with therapy and pain better when immersed in a calm, cold virtual world. The game Snow World lets players hit targets with snowballs in a winter wonderland. The results of the study show unarguably that victims handle treatment and healing much better when their mind, eyes & ears are occupied — mind over matter, indeed."

Comments

Re:Snow necessary?

[TubeSteak]

I wonder if the snowy setting really makes that much of a difference, or if the main thing is that the mind is occupied with something other than pain. No mention in TFA of other test VR games.

http://www.chsd.org/11490.cfm

When [lead researcher Dr. Anu Patel] began her study on 4- to 12-year-olds in February, she thought Game Boy might reduce anxiety as much as a standard tranquilizer, midazolam, often given before surgery. But the video game worked better _ a bonus, she said, because many parents oppose tranquilizing their children.