From treating brain injuries to improving surgery
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At Allina Health’s Courage Kenny Rehabilitation Institute in Minnesota, patientsstrap on headsetsas part of their therapy.
They play games likeFruit Ninjato help work muscles even when they are paralyzed.
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Brain-Body Connection
About 150 patients have undergone VR therapy at Courage Kenny.
The program is expanding from two to 19 locations.
A doctor at the institute said VR therapystimulates nerve cellsto regenerate by sending signals between the brain and muscles.
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VR is used in other types of brain injury treatment, as well.Dr.
Gavin Britz, head of the Houston Methodist Neurological Institute, and his team use VR technology regularly.
“VR has taken away much of the guessing game in neurosurgery.”
VR is also used to teach younger surgeons how to operate on the brain.
“It allows them to practice the surgery before even doing it,” Britz said.
It can also be used to present soothing environments to calm someones physiology down after an intense experience.
Theres increasing evidence that virtual reality can affect the way the brain functions.
New advances in VR technology could help patients even more than the current generation of headsets, Putrino said.
Britz said that new VR techniques would also help advance the practice of neurosurgery.
