Case Report: Virtual natural environment solution helped a child cope with a painful procedure

Abstract

Fear of needles is a common phenomenon that can affect the patient's ability to function and to seek medical help. Novel treatment practices are needed to help children cope with this fear. Based on user feedback, immersive virtual reality applications are effective when distracting the patient during a painful procedure. Better understanding of how virtual reality solutions affect the autonomic nervous system should be acquired. We present the case of a 12-year-old boy attending our study examining a novel virtual reality (VR) relaxation method (VirNE). The clinical study aims to determine if pain and anxiety can be relieved by relaxation that has been induced by a virtual natural environment and guided relaxation exercise-mediated autonomic nervous system stimulation. The patient was able to overcome his fear of needles with the help of the guided relaxation and found significant relief from the distress he was experiencing on his monthly visits to the hospital due to his long-term illness requiring repetitious intravenous cannulations.

Keywords: analgesia; child; deep breathing; trypanophobia; virtual reality.

Figure 1

The scenery of the virtual reality relaxation application (virNE).

Figure 2

The HRV tracking during the first deep breathing session. The virtual reality headset was worn at timepoint 1. The exercise started at 2 and ended at 4. The venipuncture was performed at 3. The increased HRV can be seen during the first half of the exercise (from 2 to 3). The heart rate level elevated and HRV narrowed temporarily during the venipuncture but reverted immediately to the prior level after the procedure was finished.

Figure 3

The HRV tracking during a guided relaxation training session.