technology
All photos: Bolton Clarke
Virtual distraction
Once the stuff of science fiction,
virtual reality is increasingly
being used in clinical care as
a non-medicinal treatment.
Matiu Bush interviewed by Dallas Bastian
A
ged care staff are testing the
usefulness of virtual reality
headsets for senior clients, and
it’s transforming wound management
procedures.
Originally developed by the gaming
industry, VR intervention has emerged
34 agedcareinsite.com.au
in clinical care as a non-medicinal
method to distract patients from
uncomfortable sensations.
Aged care provider Bolton Clarke
recently introduced VR in their At Home
Support services as a method to reduce
anxiety, pain and movement during wound
dressing, and patients have reported a
marked improvement in their experience.
Bolton Clarke nurse Rajwind Kaur said
the new strategy used a head-mounted
display and head-tracking system to
immerse patients in a calming and
simulated environment.
For instance, Melbourne client Peter
chose an underwater experience that
allowed him to feel like he was swimming
with dolphins during his 45-minute
procedure.
“When I had dressings done at the
hospital, they said to visualise something
nice, but now I can actually see something
nice,” he said.
“I can still feel it, but I can’t see the
nurses doing the dressing, and that helps.”
Kaur said levels of pain were associated
with the level of attention given to the pain
stimulus, therefore introducing a competing
stimulus that interferes with pain receptors
lowers the reported pain levels.
Bolton Clarke nurses also reported
that VR interventions led to less patient
movement during wound dressing, making
the process quicker and easier.
Aged Care Insite spoke with Matiu Bush,
design integration lead at Bolton Clarke,
about virtual reality and its potential
applications.
ACI: Where did the idea behind using
virtual reality for wound management
come from?
MB: I’ve worked with virtual reality for
about three-and-a-half years in tertiary
hospitals and cancer hospitals. I’ve seen its
benefit for patients who have procedures