From the BBC: Real pain dulled in virtual worlds.
Posted on February 23, 2004 07:37 PM. Filed under: health.Fantasy worlds created by virtual reality have been shown to provide a novel form of relief to patients suffering from intractable pain.
Dr Hunter Hoffman, research fellow at the Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, has tested his virtual worlds on victims of burns injuries who suffer excruciating pain during their daily dressing changes which conventional drug therapy fails to control.
Hoffman's virtual worlds, which he calls by names such as SnowWorld or SpiderWorld, are designed to immerse the user so deeply in the virtual experience that their attention is distracted away from the pain. [continue]