Escape the Pain
The last thing you want to look at while undergoing an unpleasant or painful medical procedure is the ceiling tiles in your hospital room. Being immersed in a virtual winter scene, complete with snowmen and penguins, can help take one’s mind off the pain (Li, Montaño, Chen, & Gold, 2011). Army Sergeant Oscar Liberato (left) gets lost in the virtual reality video game SnowWorld (right) as he undergoes a painful procedure.
top: Steve Elliot, U.S. Army Photo; bottom: Image by Ari Hollander and Howard Rose, Seattle, copyright Hunter Hoffman, UW, www.vrpain.com.