Loyola University Medical Center will be one of the first hospitals in the US to use a Virtual Reality (VR) game to help aid burn patients in their recovery. The idea is that it will distract patients from their pain as they enter into a virtual ‘polar landscape of gently falling snowflakes, snowmen, penguins, igloos and icy rivers.’

According to the game’s developers the game will cause the mind to ‘block your view of the real world’ while helping you escape from your pain. I guess only time will tell just how well it works and with how many burn patients. While I think that the mind can be distracted, it remains to be seen if you can block out that kind of pain just be tricking the other senses. Then again, in burn cases, any distraction from the pain is a welcome thing and has to help in their recovery.

A company in Dublin, Ireland named Lincor Solutions has created the MEDIVista, a touchscreen LCD display designed to be used by patients, doctors and nurses. The device could serve many different purposes. The displays are conveniently mounted next to the bed so that healthcare workers can use it for medical needs. Typical things like displaying x-rays or medical info. But the cool part is that the patient can also use it to entertain themselves.

The patient can watch TV, listen to the radio, even make calls, as well as surf the web and check email. It also sports web based games and audio books. The company recently signed an agreement with a New Jersey based hospital to install the interactive displays on all 397 hospital beds. This should make hospital stays much more pleasent. Now if you can only get some good food, you’d all set for a long stay.