Immersive Virtual Reality Exposure for Reducing Preoperative Anxiety in Children

Perioperative anxiety management for children undergoing surgery poses a major challenge to anaesthesiologists as high anxiety, reported in numerous studies, leads to detrimental effects physiologically, mentally and on pain scores. Traditional methods, including administration of anxiolytics pre-op has its own limitations e.g. side effects of drugs. Non-pharmacological approaches e.g. OT orientation or information have a heavy reliance on manpower. A sustainable and reliable non-pharmacological method that requires minimal manpower support is needed for the effective management of paediatric perioperative anxiety. Virtual reality utilises a head-mounted display with visual, auditory and tactile stimuli to simulate a fully immersive 3-dimensional environment. Its application in the paediatric perioperative setting can be either as a distraction during painful procedures or during induction of anaesthesia or as an exposure tool in preoperative education and has demonstrated success in literature. In a joint project involving the Department of Computing of Hong Kong Polytechnic University, the Department of Computer Science Center for Innovative Applications of Internet and Multimedia Technologies of the City University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Children's Hospital (HKCH), an immersive VR operating theatre tour will be designed as part of preoperative education for children. A simulation of the perioperative journey in HKCH operating theatre will be created to help children form realistic expectations of their perioperative journey to cope with their worries about the anticipated procedures.