Leveraging Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to Combat Chronic Pain in Youth: Position Paper From the Interdisciplinary Network on Virtual and Augmented Technologies for Pain Management

Deirdre E Logan; Laura E Simons; Thomas J Caruso; Jeffrey I Gold; Walter Greenleaf; Anya Griffin; Christopher D King; Maria Menendez; Vanessa A Olbrecht; Samuel Rodriguez; Megan Silvia; Jennifer N Stinson; Ellen Wang; Sara E Williams; Luke Wilson

doi:10.2196/25916

Leveraging Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to Combat Chronic Pain in Youth: Position Paper From the Interdisciplinary Network on Virtual and Augmented Technologies for Pain Management

J Med Internet Res. 2021 Apr 26;23(4):e25916. doi: 10.2196/25916.

Authors

Deirdre E Logan^{1

2}, Laura E Simons^{3

4}, Thomas J Caruso^#^{3

4}, Jeffrey I Gold^#^{5

6

7

8}, Walter Greenleaf^#⁹, Anya Griffin^#^{3

4}, Christopher D King^#^{10

11

12}, Maria Menendez^#⁴, Vanessa A Olbrecht^#^{10

12

13}, Samuel Rodriguez^#^{3

4}, Megan Silvia^#^{14

15}, Jennifer N Stinson^#¹⁶, Ellen Wang^#^{3

4}, Sara E Williams^#^{10

11

12}, Luke Wilson^#¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
² Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, CA, United States.
⁴ Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
⁵ Department of Anesthesiology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
⁶ The Saban Research Institute, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
⁷ Department of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
⁸ Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.
⁹ Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States.
¹⁰ Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
¹¹ Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
¹² Center for Understanding Pediatric Pain (CUPP), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
¹³ Department of Anesthesiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
¹⁴ Department of Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy Services, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
¹⁵ Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, United States.
¹⁶ Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
¹⁷ Mighty Immersion, Inc., New York, NY, United States.

^# Contributed equally.

PMID: 33667177
PMCID: PMC8111507
DOI: 10.2196/25916

Abstract

Background: Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) interventions are emerging as promising tools in the treatment of pediatric chronic pain conditions. However, in this young field, there is little consensus to guide the process of engaging in the development and evaluation of targeted VR-based interventions.

Objective: The INOVATE-Pain (Interdisciplinary Network on Virtual and Augmented Technologies for Pain management) consortium aims to advance the field of VR for pediatric chronic pain rehabilitation by providing guidance for best practices in the design, evaluation, and dissemination of VR-based interventions targeting this population.

Methods: An interdisciplinary meeting of 16 academics, clinicians, industry partners, and philanthropy partners was held in January 2020.

Results: Reviewing the state of the field, the consortium identified important directions for research-driven innovation in VR and AR clinical care, highlighted key opportunities and challenges facing the field, and established a consensus on best methodological practices to adopt in future efforts to advance the research and practice of VR and AR in pediatric pain. The consortium also identified important next steps to undertake to continue to advance the work in this promising new area of digital health pain interventions.

Conclusions: To realize the promise of this realm of innovation, key ingredients for success include productive partnerships among industry, academic, and clinical stakeholders; a uniform set of outcome domains and measures for standardized evaluation; and widespread access to the latest opportunities, tools, and resources. The INOVATE-Pain collaborative hopes to promote the creation, rigorous yet efficient evaluation, and dissemination of innovative VR-based interventions to reduce pain and improve quality of life for children.

Keywords: chronic pain; pediatric; virtual reality.

©Deirdre E Logan, Laura E Simons, Thomas J Caruso, Jeffrey I Gold, Walter Greenleaf, Anya Griffin, Christopher D King, Maria Menendez, Vanessa A Olbrecht, Samuel Rodriguez, Megan Silvia, Jennifer N Stinson, Ellen Wang, Sara E Williams, Luke Wilson. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 26.04.2021.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Augmented Reality*
Child
Chronic Pain* / therapy
Humans
Pain Management
Quality of Life
Virtual Reality*