Virtual-reality simulator benefits patients

Tuesday, October 27, 1998

Virtual-reality simulator benefits patients

HEALTH: Medical professionals utilize equipment to understand
difficulties of living with cancer

By Sarah Krupp

Daily Bruin Contributor

No one, not even family members and loved ones, can ever
experience the daily suffering and frustration of a cancer
patient.

But for a brief fifteen minutes, "In My Steps," a
virtual-reality fatigue-simulator, will subject doctors and nurses
to their patients’ most debilitating side effects – an exhaustion
so extreme that everyday activities become impossible.

"Anything that can help us imagine what these guys are going
through has got to be worth it," said Karen Stettner, a nurse at
UCLA’s Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center (JCCC).

"It’s impossible for us to understand something that we have
never experienced," she added.

Ortho-Biotech, a pharmaceutical company, funds the entire
project. At an estimated cost of $8.5 million for equipment alone,
five trailers tour the U.S. giving virtual reality presentations on
the debilitating effects of different cancer therapies, said Frank
Estrada, district manager of Ortho Biotech for Los Angeles.

Their mission is simple – participants must respond to household
demands such as answering the telephone and making a cup of tea.
But these simple tasks become overwhelming when inhibited by
fatigue.

The frustration was inconceivable, said participant Sheila
Stinnett, nurse manager of the oncology center.

"The doorbell is ringing. It keeps ringing and I keep saying I
am coming …" said Stinnett.

But, by the time Stinnett got to the door, the man who had come
to deliver her medication had already left.

Participants sit, wearing a head-mounted display which shows
them their surroundings. Their feet are strapped onto pedals, by
which they "walk," and a glove on their right hand controls their
direction.

"The amount of energy it would take just to answer the doorbell
would have taken me a half a mile," said Tamara Sutton-Kasum,
administrative director of oncology, who also took part in the
simulation. "Every foot for them probably feels like 20."

After the simulation, Stinnett promised to be more sympathetic
when patients complain of fatigue.

In addition, she committed herself to amending the hospital’s
care, especially in "streamlining the waiting process."

By making doctors and nurses aware of the patient’s experience,
the hope is that doctors will make a conscious effort to alleviate
their patients’ sufferings by prescribing medicines and monitoring
their nutrition intake in order to bolster energy levels.

"Its important to convince physicians that fatigue is an issue
that needs to be treated – that it is a real thing." said Angela
Garrido, a JCCC nurse.

Garrido attests that since the first showing of the fatigue
simulator by the American Society of Clinical Oncology in May, she
has seen an improvement within the JCCC.

However, Ricarda DeMaria, a patient who began treatment at the
JCCC in June, expressed doubts about how effective the project will
be.

"For the most part, the staff is empathetic. It depends on the
person and the day they are having," she said.

"(But) there is a lot of room for improvement. Today they began
my treatment one and a half hours late. Things like that add to
fatigue and stress," she said.

"What I wonder is how long they will apply it, will they follow
up, will there be training of staff – for how long and how
extensive," she added.

"Empathy can’t be a learned or taught behavior," DeMaria
said.DERRICK KUDO/Daily Bruin

Sheila Stinnett, a nurse practitioner, tries out a virtual
reality simulator that lets doctors and nurses experience how their
patients feel after cancer therapies.

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