How a Montreal hospital is using VR and music to transform patient care - BERITAJA

Ginette Thomas went to St. Mary’s infirmary connected Wednesday for a regular doctor’s appointment, but what she knowledgeable went acold beyond that.

Within seconds, she was location other wholly — wrong a afloat immersive virtual reality concert.

“It’s relaxing,” said Thomas. “It makes you fto spell of everything and spell location else.”

The virtual reality performance task intends to show the imaginable — and benefits — of philharmonic involution successful a health-care environment.

Led by geriatrician and researcher, Dr. Julia Chabot, and featuring the activity of internationally renowned Quebec pianist and composer Alexandra Stréliski, the task is meant to research really immersive experiences and euphony could trim stress, symptom and amended affectional health.

“We did a mini aviator task pinch virtual reality concerts, earlier doing the 1 pinch Alexandra Stréliski, we did mini concerts to effort it and spot if it worked pinch our patients,” said Chabot. “And patients who received the virtual reality involution arsenic opposed to our power room reported little pain.

The bosom of the acquisition is euphony designed to emotionally move patients, some emotionally and physically, retired of their surroundings.

“It transports you for 10-15 minutes and that’s really powerful, if you’re successful a infirmary room aliases if you’re successful symptom each day,” she said. “I deliberation it could alleviate a small bit.”

Chatbot hopes the task is conscionable the extremity of the iceberg.

The extremity is to grow the task passim the full infirmary wrong the twelvemonth and bring successful much musicians, genres and, Chabot says, hopefully much hospitals.

“I could prescribe medications to patients but there’s thing that I could springiness to patients that will person specified an instant effect, that they’ll opportunity ‘Wow, that made maine consciousness really, really good,'” said Chabot.