Virtual reality at Caen Normandy University Hospital to improve the patient experience during surgery

Innovation

Virtual reality at Caen Normandy University Hospital to improve the patient experience during surgery

For the past few weeks, the interventional cardiology department at Caen Normandy University Hospital has been using two virtual reality headsets provided by Deepsen, a company specializing in the design of digital therapies aimed at improving the physical and psychological comfort of patients. These headsets allow patients to reduce pain, stress, and anxiety before and during surgery through immersive and interactive videos.

Calm the patient before the procedure

For certain interventional rhythmology operations (pacemaker implantation, defibrillator implantation or atrial fibrillation ablation procedures), the patient can now benefit from a virtual reality headset.

Before the procedure, this system helps reassure the patient and explain how their care pathway will unfold. The patient then moves within the hospital where doctors and healthcare teams speak to them in detail about the procedure and the pre- and post-operative instructions.

An intensely immersive experience during the operation

During the procedure, the patient is also invited to choose a visual and auditory environment to be played through the headset: the beach, the mountains, lakes, etc. This immersive experience is accompanied by a voice that guides breathing, according to the principles of hypnoanalgesia, to lead them to a state of deep relaxation. The patient remains lucid but is almost completely oblivious to the stressful atmosphere of the operating room.

The benefits of the project

Lowering patients' pre-operative anxiety levels to improve operative comfort and minimize the risk of developing post-operative pain;
Minimizing intolerance to uncertainty (fear of the unknown) for better acceptance of the procedure;
To allow for the use of local rather than general anesthesia;
To offer better post-operative recovery;
Making care easier for caregivers due to a more serene patient.

A solution appreciated by patients

“Only 1 in 10 patients refuses this device. The patient is more serene and experiences the operation better, he leaves the hospital environment, he escapes and his pain is soothed,” testifies Gaëlle Hamon, manager of the cardiology department.

Information

The cardiology department treats coronary diseases (24-hour coronary emergencies), rhythm and conduction disorders, heart failure and valvular, muscular and malformative diseases in adults and children from the 3 departments of Western Normandy.