Key Highlights:
- The FDA has authorized Trusted Source, a game-changing gadget that might enhance the lives of those suffering from chronic pain.
- The VR gadget guides users through an 8-week therapy regimen consisting of 56 daily sessions.
- Lora L. Black a licensed psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences believes that the gadget might help improve treatment availability.
EaseVRx to ease chronic pain
Chronic pain affects around 50 million persons in the United States.
However, assistance may be on the way. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized Trusted Source, a game-changing gadget that might enhance the lives of those suffering from chronic pain.
The EaseVRx is a virtual reality (VR) headset that combines approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy to assist individuals to reduce pain.
“The inspiration behind the EaseVRx was to create a standardized, standalone, high-quality behavioral intervention where people could acquire critical skills set that have been shown through various different types of treatment modalities to both reduce pain and its impacts. But now they can receive it on-demand in the comfort of their own home and in doing so, transcending so many barriers to effective pain care,” stated Beth Darnall, Ph.D., the head of the Stanford Pain Relief Innovations Lab in California, as well as the EaseVRx’s principal science consultant and co-creator.
“Individuals turn on the headset and they’re in an immersive 3D world where they can see a new environment around them and be directed to interact within the context of that environment to learn various information such as the role of pain in the brain, how pain exists in the central nervous system, and what can be done to soothe or calm one’s nervous system within the context of pain,” Darnall said.
Success in a study
The VR gadget guides users through an 8-week therapy regimen consisting of 56 daily sessions.
According to the FDA, in a clinical evaluation of the device, 66 percent of individuals who used EaseVRx reported a pain reduction of more than 30 percent, compared to 41 percent of other participants who did not use the device.
Approximately 46% of individuals who utilized the gadget reported a pain decrease of more than 50%.
“It’s quite thrilling.” “It’s a revolutionary gadget, but it’s also a breakthrough in how we think about pain and pain management,” Darnall said.
How the device could help
Lora L. Black, Ph.D., MPH, a licensed psychologist and associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Kansas Health System, believes the gadget might help improve treatment availability.
“This looks to be a solid use of technology to augment self-regulatory approaches that have been demonstrated in several trials to be useful for chronic pain,” she added.
“There is also evidence demonstrating that VR technology can promote adherence to other therapies, such as exercise,” she noted. “Use of comparable technology may also be effective in promoting adherence to self-regulatory approaches.”
“A device like this may help to reduce access barriers many patients experience when trying to find psychologists trained in pain-focused psychotherapy,” Black noted. “Such a device may also serve as a helpful supplement to those already engaged in psychological treatment for chronic pain.”
Also Read: Oculus: Newest addition to the Virtual Reality Headset
