Reducing chronic pain in Virtual Reality

When you hit your head, you will probably feel an awful pain immediately after. When you touch something hot, you feel pain and quickly retract your hand. Two very normal responses that have helped humans learn to avoid harm like hot stoves and dangerous constructions where you can hit your head. But what if this pain system malfunctions and you feel pain when there is no real danger to the body? A lot of people cope with pain like this. This pain is real and can influence someone’s life very negatively. It is often paired with negative thoughts and emotions on top of the physical pain.

A journey through the body

Reducept is a serious game designed for patients to help manage their chronic pain as well as educate them on how pain originates. By providing this unique combination of gaming and education, patients are more able to manage their chronic pain, even after the game has ended. Through amazing visual graphics, patients will go on a journey through their body and they can be emerged within the experience virtual reality offers. By playing different games, patients learn different techniques that they can use to manage their chronic pain. The goal is to control pain through education. Added bonus: it is fun to play!

Partners

Reducept is developed together with Margryt Fennema, health scientist and digital healthcare innovator, and Louis Zantema, medical psychologist. Their aim is to provide treatments that are accessible to everyone through gaming.

Reducept is currently available for Pico G2, Android and iPhone. The game can be downloaded directly from their respective stores. Patients can also obtain the game with a pre-installed set made available by their therapist or practice. You can find more information on the official website.