Page 13 - Christiana Care Focus June July 2018

“ Our role at the Innovation Center is to help bring those ideas to life to better care for those we serve.“
TCatherine Burch, MSM, CXA
hrough sights and sounds, the 360-degree VR platform takes patients to places familiar and exotic.
“Our objective was to offer our patients a positive, relaxing distraction, an escape from the confinement of the infusion
suite and the boredom, anxiety or discomfort they may associate with their chemotherapy,“ said Cancer Program Clinical Director Cindy Waddington, MSN, RN, AOCN, NE-C. “I don’t think there is another program like this for chemotherapy patients in Delaware.”
Beyond the usual amenities offered in any doctor’s office, Waddington found that some chemotherapy patients who visited the Graham Cancer Center Infusion Suite were asking for more creative ways to
pass the time — hours for some — while tethered to their IV lines. The Innovation Center team surveyed the marketplace to find the just the right equipment and then customized the software to make it easy to use for patients and volunteers.
“This is a great example of leveraging technology to make stronger human connections,” said Innovation Center Director Catherine Burch, MSM, CXA. “We loved hearing the memories from patients that the virtual world brought back for them from childhood to favorite vacations.”
“Ideas for innovation are generated throughout our health system,” Burch said. “Our role at the Innovation Center is to help bring those ideas to life to better care for those we serve.“
The Oculus Rift VR headset selected for use by the Innovation Center development team can be adjusted for fit, sound and
visual clarity. The device is connected to a laptop computer that runs the software. At present, the laptop sits on a cart that volunteers move easily from patient to patient, making sure to sanitize all the pieces between each use.
“We are always looking at emerging technologies to enhance the patient experience,” said Software Development Engineer Jason Mastriana, CUA, CXA.
“Our Innovation Center R&D team is evaluating newer, upgraded models with no PC or wires attached to meet our future requirements for a more portable, multiple- user VR platform.”
In a two-week proof of concept trial, 70 patients, caregivers and staff volunteered to try the headset to experience one or more of the 10-minute videos in the collection and to provide feedback. Selections included scenes from a winter forest, Bavarian
Alps, Irish landscapes, lush meadow and Australian beach preserve.
Their response was overwhelmingly positive. All of the participants said they enjoyed the experience and would do it again; 98 percent said it was relaxing, and 64 percent said it reduced anxiety and boredom.
| Cancer Care With a grant from the
Physician Professionalism Council Discretionary Fund, the team has
expanded the VR program to patients at
all three Graham Cancer Center infusion suites, which includes patients from Christiana Care Oncology Hematology
and Gynecologic Oncology who come in
for chemotherapy. Feedback continues to be enthusiastic as more patients opt in for the VR experience. The team has started filming new videos of local scenic locations, including Cape May, New Jersey, to add to the collection.
Visitor & Volunteer Services Director Margarita Rodriguez- Duffy, MSW, CAVS, reports that so far nine volunteers have taken the two-hour classroom training and hands-on follow-up to assist patients in using the VR tool. “Our goal is to have two volunteers per shift, working with patients during this expanded pilot,” she said.
The team plans to continue gathering data from the expanded VR program and to share their experiences with multidisciplinary professional groups throughout Christiana Care, as well as nationally through publication and presentations. 
The VR system helps patients to experience relaxing locations through sight and sound, providing welcome distraction from their infusion.
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