A French start-up has reached an agreement with several hospitals to conduct an unprecedented experiment. This involves using virtual reality in the context of lung transplants. The goal? Reduce the stress of lung transplant recipients and reduce the risk of rejection.
“Virtual reality is entering a therapeutic phase that can save lives” said Pierre Gadea, director of C2Care, interviewed by L'Usine Digitale on December 16, 2019.
Based in Toulon, this start-up specializes in the development of comprehensive therapeutic tools based on virtual reality (VR). Intended for healthcare professionals, these VR applications have been designed for the treatment of phobias, addictions, eating disorders, depression and functional disorders.
C2Care has just signed a partnership with the hospitals of Marseille. This involves using virtual reality to reduce the patient's post-operative stress who received a lung transplant. Patients will be immersed in a virtual environment during the first trials scheduled for January 2020. No less than 20 patients will be drawn to participate in this experiment representing a world first.
You should know that post-operative stress can unfortunately affect the outcome of the operation. If the anxiety does not directly cause the rejection of the graft, it can lead to a significant lack of sleep . However, this lack can seriously affect the graft.
Sources of stress can be embodied by certain noises. For example, an empty water infusion can make a patient anxious , a stress which is moreover useless as this does not represent any danger. In addition, patients cannot communicate because they are restrained and intubated.
Before the transplant, selected patients will benefit from three 45-minute sessions in the presence of a psychologist. Using a VR headset, they will be immersed in a resuscitation room. This will be a room similar to the one they will see when they wake up after the transplant. Thus, the presence of machines and their noises should allow patients to become familiar with this environment.
The goal is to better understand this same environment and get used to it little by little so as not to worry when the time comes. In addition, the psychologist will be responsible for teaching patients certain relaxation techniques apply if needed when waking up.
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