Take, for example, the Institute of Surgical Research at Fort Sam Houston, which showed off virtual reality technology that it says is doing wonders for helping burn victims get through the extremely painful daily process of checking skin grafts. Patients look through 3-D goggles that look not dissimilar to the sort of machines used by eye doctors for examinations and find themselves floating through an icy, Antarctic world populated by polar bears, penguins and other friendly creatures. Then the patient points and clicks a mouse to throw snowballs at them.
Not only do the addictive, immersive qualities of video games—even relatively tame ones such as this—provide a great source of distraction from what otherwise often has patients screaming in agony and caregivers extremely stressed out. They also permit health care providers to administer fewer painkillers during the process, allowing the patients to begin their daily rehabilitation that much sooner. Happier nurses, happier patients, less drugs, more time spent on rehabilitation—the technology can literally help patients recover more quickly.
But for something even more far out, consider the Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine (AFIRM). With five years and $250 million in funding, this group has brought together top scientific minds at universities and companies across the country to work on new techniques for skin grafts, limb salvage and reconstruction, organ transplant and even, amazingly, growing new limbs.
Imagine that instead of reattaching or transplanting a limb, doctors could trigger a genetic process found in salamanders and other creatures in nature that would allow the patient to just grow a new arm. That would be a kind of “home run” discovery, AFIRM Program Director Colonel Robert Vandre noted. But judging by the successes this group and other military medical programs have achieved so far, who knows what might be possible some day?
Ted McKenna, Editor This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it |
 |