Virtual Reality Technology May Be More Effective Than Medication

Virtual reality technology may be more effective than medication

1. Helping patients recover their body functions

America Duke University conducted a one-year study to discover the great benefits of VR technology in treating patients with paralysis. The researchers asked the patient to wear a virtual reality helmet and walk through a stadium like a football player. The researchers found that doing so would allow the patient to recover some of the brain functions associated with leg movements. Of the 8 patients tested, each patient recovered some of the control, and 4 of them changed from complete paraplegia to local paraplegia.

2. Treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder

Traditionally, doctors use exposure therapy to treat nearly 8 million adult PTSD patients each year. Exposure therapy encourages patients to tell their trauma, visualize their traumatic process in imaginary, and explain to the doctor what happened under the stress of the time. The new therapy basically uses the same approach, while using virtual reality helmets to create virtual worlds with custom elements (for example, helicopters, machine guns, and missiles can be customized in veteran experience). The patient was then asked to tell what happened at the time.

3. Training medical students

Virtual reality technology provides medical and dental students with a safe, controlled environment to practice surgery and treatment procedures and prepare for emergencies. In such an environment, medical students can make mistakes, but they will not have any effect on the actual patient. Students can learn in the “hands-on” process and interact with virtual patients to better develop their medical skills.