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Augmented reality therapy.
Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Primer
Virtual Reality (VR) Augmented Reality (AR)
Virtual reality uses a headset to immerse the Augmented reality uses the camera on a mobile
user in a 3D environment that totally covers the device (like a smartphone or tablet) to add
field of vision. With some systems, the user can digital 3D and audio experiences over the real
interact with the environment in a seemingly world, allowing you to experience them at the
real way using equipment such as headphones same time.
and handheld controllers with sensors.
Common Use Cases
Virtual Reality Augmented Reality
● Cast removal ● IV starts
● IV placement ● Blood draws
● Anxiety or pain management ● Normalizing environment
● Distraction during procedures or rehab ● Anxiety or pain management
exercises ● Motivation for rehab exercise
Benefits and Challenges
Virtual Reality Augmented Reality
Benefits Benefits
● Highly immersive ● Highly immersive
● Highly distracting ● Highly distracting
● Fun for patients ● Fun for patients
● Works on the devices you and your
patients/families already have
Challenges Challenges
● Some users experience motion sickness ● CCLS’ with patients lying on back or
● Because VR totally covers the patient’s stomach may have challenges orienting
vision, they need to be in a safe place the experience in a way the patient can
and are limited in movement use it when using a device like an iPad
● Requires purchase of a headset, usually ● Very old iPads may have trouble using
$800+ per headset AR tools
Learn more at spellboundar.com
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Augmented reality therapy.
Stories from Hospitals
Virtual Reality Augmented Reality
At Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin, a pediatric At a Texas hospital, a 14-year-old girl needed to
psychologist has been working on a study to get blood drawn, but had a needle phobia. The
measure the impact of VR on patients. One CCLS gave her a SpellBound card to distract her
patient really struggled before and during his during the procedure and the girl was playing
procedures; he’d arrive and immediately feel with the card, not even paying attention to the
nauseous and anxious and would almost always needle, and the mom looked at the CCLS,
vomit, sometimes more than once, before the shocked. After they're done, the CCLS says "OK,
medical team did anything. Eventually VR was we're all done!" and the girl asks "Can I keep
introduced and he was able to endure his playing with this?"
infusions with a lot less stress, anxiety, and pain.
Once he saw that the psychologist was right A CCLS at a California hospital was called into a
about the benefits of VR, he was suddenly much patient’s room to find a boy who was getting a
more willing to try her other coping suggestions. catheterization. She didn’t have time to prepare,
but she had a SpellBound Magic Tree card
A 9-year-old suffered a severe injury to his arm slipped in her name badge. The CCLS later said,
while racing a go-kart and had to undergo “The patient loved it so much. He was smiling
painful daily dressing changes. He’d start crying and laughing throughout the procedure. He was
and screaming out of fear, and had to be sedated making the same sounds as the animals. The
before doctors could even approach his arm. He mom was shocked to see her son laughing
had a lot of built up anxiety from what he’d been through a procedure that was so
going through in treatment, so when VR was uncomfortable.”
introduced it made a tremendous difference.
When he used VR before and during the dressing "We have an oncology patient and he challenges
change, he no longer needed sedation (which is all of us. Screaming, yelling, biting, kicking,
huge), and during his dressing changes, he went punching. With SpellBound, we were able to get
from painful screams to going, “Wow, I’m under him through the entire PT session and get him to
the sea looking at sea snakes. This is so cool. You stand and actually take steps. We were able to
have to see this!” get through what normally would have been
almost a 2 hour session to get him to get up, in
about 10 minutes with the cards.” -Child Life
Heroes: Overcoming Challenges with Play
Helpful Resources about AR/VR
● Navigating the New Realities: Incorporating Technology into Child Life Practice - Page 42 of Association of
Child Life Professionals Winter 2018 Bulletin
● 5 Uses for Augmented Reality in Children’s Hospitals
Research
● The efficacy of an augmented virtual reality system to alleviate pain in children undergoing burns dressing
changes: a randomised controlled trial
● Is Virtual Reality Ready for Prime Time in the Medical Space? A Randomized Control Trial of Pediatric Virtual
Reality for Acute Procedural Pain Management
● Virtual Reality for Management of Pain in Hospitalized Patients: Results of a Controlled Trial
Learn more at spellboundar.com
or email hello@spellboundar.com