Bringing virtual reality into the pediatrician’s office

A full 60% of children report severe pain when their pediatrician uses a needle to do things like draw blood or administer an IV. Yet these are necessary procedures, which begs the question: if you can’t eliminate the needles, how do you alleviate the pain? The folks at Smileyscope were determined to find an answer.

We used virtual reality to offer a change of scenery.

We created a virtual reality experience that transports children from the doctor’s office to an underwater seascape during their procedure. It is totally immersive—we even coordinated the pediatricians actions with VR animations. For example, when the pediatrician cleans the patient’s skin with an alcohol swab, the patient sees soothing waves washing over her arm.