I was recently reading an online article about an interesting collaboration between Samsung and a Los Angeles-based startup called AppliedVR. Applied VR is using Samsung’s virtual reality hardware Gear VR to view relaxing landscapes and play interactive games. The idea is to take a patient’s focus off the pain so the patients can reduce dependence on pain medications. There are many companies around the world innovating with virtual reality in every way you can imagine. To think we can imagine a world where having fun and watching relaxing scenes on virtual reality can help reduce anxiety and potentially allow a patient to reduce dependence on medicine that is more often than not addictive. To think we can now imagine a world where patients suffering with everything from depression, to emotional trauma to anxiety can soon potentially use new technology instead of drug therapy for very severe and debilitating conditions.
In many of these areas, drug approaches to treatment are highly inadequate, are expensive and often have many side effects. When we speak of an integrated approach to resolve health problems this is a great example. If all you looked at were new drug approaches to solving pain and other health problems, you would miss all the magic of how the world is changing with new technology innovation. Industry disciplines are intersecting and colliding in ways that open up so many new possibilities for exciting innovation that can help society in so many important ways.
One of the refreshing and intriguing points of this article was the discussion of Samsung hiring a Chief Medical Officer and how they are participating in clinical trials studying the potential of this new pain approach. AppliedVR has worked very carefully to optimize their product for clinical settings and work flow. Applied VR is highly collaborative and working to build an evidence-based approach to their products. Even at a quick glance, the systems-based approach they are taking to their business development is strongly evident.
See for yourself in the following article published in MedCity News: