Treating chronic pain through Virtual Reality
Around one in three to five people suffer from chronic pain in the Netherlands and Belgium. As the name alludes to, the pain doesn’t go away with time and can hinder people in their day-to-day life. Pain can have many different causes and treatment involves both a mental and physical approach. In some cases, the pain can’t be cured, but patients go through rehabilitation in order to improve their quality of life. In this process, the patient can still be fearful to make certain moves which prevent them to make progress or, on the other hand, overcompensate their movements.
Explanation innovation
The RGS4pain of Eodyne gamifies the rehabilitation process by placing the patient with chronic pain in a safe environment while distracting them throughout the exercises. Within the VR world, there are two spaces. One is to perform the exercises by rebuilding a structure with building blocks all around you and the other is a relaxation space to reflect on the exercise, your pain, and your behavior with your healthcare professional. During the session, your healthcare professional can watch along on a screen and the difficulty can be adjusted, so they can guide you every step of the way.
How does it impacts patients’ health?
By performing the exercises in a dynamic and fun way, and specially, through the use of distractors, the patient can learn to better manage chronic pain in a new way. Through VR, patients can learn to make movements in a controlled way that they might think was not possible. With the right guidance from healthcare professionals during and after the VR intervention, patients can learn to handle their pain, thus improving the treatment outcomes and their quality of life.
What is the story behind the innovation?
Eodyne started in 2014 with technologies specialized in real-time interactive systems for neurorehabilitation. After developing their clinically validated Rehabilitation Gaming System (RGS), they had been exploring the brain repair principles behind VR rehabilitation which was becoming more mainstream and accessible in healthcare. Eodyne is collaborating with Roessingh Centre for Revalidation in Enschede to develop the RGS4pain to help patients with chronic pain in their rehabilitation process.
Eodyne develops new Medtech innovations while working with an evidence-based approach by researching and publishing scientific articles. Their database contains over 40 articles published in leading international journals. For example, for their previous product ‘the RGSclinic’, they conducted several studies focusing on the rehabilitation post-stroke, including with the help of VR.
Are you curious about the RGS4Pain from Eodyne or could it be of value in your daily practice? Feel free to contact us by sending a mail to gijs@medscaler.com. Do you want to read more of our client cases? Read it here.
